The Flame of the Thief
by Assistant
Summary: After Sly2. Many believe Sly and Carmelita should be together, but what happenes when an unknown member of the Cooper gang makes it possible. Will they take the chance, and who is this mysterious 4th member. Complete
1. Meeting the Tech

Chapter 1

Meeting the Tech

It was a common Monday afternoon at the central offices for Interpol, France division. The almost constant flow of detectives, constables, and captured criminals could be seen as the hordes of people passed in and out of the front door. On the main floor of the Interpol office was a very large atrium, with benches, a medium fountain in the middle, and the circular reception desk with 8 people helping to direct the flow of visitors to the building. To the left and right of the reception desk were the elevators that lead to the upper stories, but off in the corner of the atrium was another elevator. It was the only elevator that went down into the basement of Interpol, which until 5 years ago was used for only storage.

That had all changed the day the higher ups at the Interpol central offices told the chief of this branch of Interpol that he had to have an on grounds tech support. Since the chief wasn't about to go against his bosses, he began preparations for getting an on staff computer technician. Unfortunately the only space he could spare for this new employee was the basement. After a few weeks of renovation the basement was up to Interpol standards, and the tech they had hired had moved in. That was about 5 years ago, right around the time Sly Cooper had snuck into that very building and made off with his case file. Since then Interpol had only bothered employing one computer tech to work down in the basement, believing that their money could be better spent on their constables, detectives, inspectors, and other staff.

That is now why Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox was now going down in the main elevators with her computer tower slung under her arm. This would actually be the first time she had seen who the computer tech was since he started. She wondered, as the elevator descended to the bottom floor, "_I wonder who he is. I bet I have seen him around the office, when he was sitting in the cafeteria or something, but didn't know he was the computer tech."_

The elevator doors flew open to reveal that Carmelita had reached the main floor, and she exited the elevator. She walked over to where the basement elevator was and pushed the call button. As she waited for the elevator to rise up she thought, "_I wonder what he looks like."_ Before she continues farther on that train of thought the elevator doors opened and she stepped in. She pushed the call button labeled B for basement and waited patiently as the elevator descended the one floor it needed to reach the basement. When the doors opened she noticed that the elevator seemed to open directly into the computer tech's office, and that there was no hallway, or small entry area. She stepped out of the elevator and began to look around. She noticed that the tech's office was smaller then she had anticipated, it being only slightly bigger then her own. The walls were lined on three sides with shelves. The shelves were covered with many different computer components, mice, keyboards, and one or two computer towers. On the wall opposite the elevator Carmelita saw a desk on the left side of the wall that took up the entire wall except for the space taken up by a door, situated on the far right side. She was surprised to find that no one was in the office, and she began to examine some of the computer supplies on one of the nearby shelves.

While examining what Carmelita had guessed was a computer hard drive the door beside the desk opened and some one came walking out of the back room, covered in dust, carrying a CD in a thin case. When Carmelita turned her head to look at the computer tech. she was caught quite off guard. He was a fox, like herself, and he stood about 6'. He was dressed in some loose black dress pants, a white button down shirt, and black shoes. He wore glass, but they were nothing like the ones she had seen the Bentley wearing in his case photos. His glasses were small, rectangular ones that rested on the edge of his nose. Carmelita deduced that he only needed them for reading, or seeing thing far away, and that other wise his sight was fine. He had a black hair, and hazel eyes, but the trait that had caught Carmelita so off guard was the fact that unlike most fox's that had orange or red fur; his was a strong blue color, with a bit of light blue under his chin.

The blue fox didn't seem to notice Carmelita as he took the CD over and inserted it into the computer sitting on the large desk/ work bench. As the computer tech brushed some dust off of his shirt Carmelita remembered why she had come down to the tech office. She walked up behind the blue fox and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. He slowly turned around in his chair and said, "Sorry, didn't notice you. My name is Todd Element. Is there something I can help you with miss…"

"I am Inspector Fox, and you can help with the thing I have her." Carmelita answered as she set the computer tower down on the desk. Todd turned to it a minute and said, "So, what is it doing Inspector."

Carmelita answered, "It was working perfectly when I turned it off and left to go for lunch, but when I came back I pressed the power button and nothing happened. I swear I checked everything, the surge protector, the power cord, and everything else I could think of, but it still won't turn on." Todd just nodded and when Carmelita finished he sat there a few moments thinking, before turned back to his desk. He slid Carmelita's computer over to in front of himself, and used a screw driver to open up the casing. He looked around inside before he rolled his chair over to one of the many shelves in the room and picked up a small device with a light on it. He rolled back over to Carmelita's computer and began to use the small device to check out some of the circuits in the computer. After a few minutes of this he said, "Well, Inspector fox. I must say you are the first person to be down here in two months that actually has a problem they couldn't fix themselves."

Todd then stood up and walked over to a different set of shelves and picked up a small metallic box that had wires coming out of one side. He walked back over to his, and began to use the screw driver to take out a similar unit out of the computer tower. Carmelita watched him work as she said, "Yeah, I could probably guess some of the people you see down here on a regular bases. I know for a fact the Constable Ace Cougar is on of the most logical officers in this place, but he can't even operate his telephone half the time."

Todd chuckled slightly as he continued to work on Carmelita's computer. He said, "Yeah, I do see Ace down here about once a week. It is nice to see some fresh faces though. If I am not mistaken you are the inspector currently working on the Cooper case, correct."

Carmelita smiled as she said, "Yeah, that's me."

"Any new breaks in the case, last I heard about the Cooper gang was a few month ago on the news. It was that report on that huge blimp had crashed into river."

"Actually since then Cooper and his cronies have been lying low. There has been no sighting of his gangs van, or anyone reporting something stolen and finding one of Cooper's calling cards in its place."

Todd just shrugged his shoulder as he finished working on Carmelita's computer and put the cover back on. He then picked it up and handed it back to Carmelita as he said, "Well, it was nice talking to someone who isn't breathing down my neck to get their computer fixed."

Carmelita took the computer back under her arm and said, "So, what was the problem any way?"

Todd just shrugged as he put stuff back on shelves. He said, "Your power supple just had wore out, it happens every five to ten years, depending on who made the power supply. You should be good for at least nine years, if you keep that computer that long. Oh, I also took this opportunity to upgrade a few things on your computer. I guarantee it will be much faster now, and you should have at least 50 more storage now."

Carmelita just smiled and said, "Thank you. Now I got to get back up to my office. Have to finish this report I was working on before lunch."

Todd just nodded and said, "I understand. Feel free to drop by anytime, its not like I have a lot of traffic down here." Carmelita nodded and went to push the call button on the elevator when the doors opened and Constable Ace Cougar stepped out of the elevator. Carmelita turned to see Todd sigh as he put his hand up to rub his head. After a few moments of rubbing his forehead he said, "Alright Ace, what is it this time."

Carmelita decided to take this opportunity to leave and slipped into the elevator as Ace began to explain something about not being able to log on to his user account on the network because he had forgotten his password again. As the elevator doors closed Carmelita was able to see Todd give Ace an angry look as he said, "Your password is your mother's madden name, like it has been for the past three years since you first became an Interpol officer. Why is that so hard for you to remember?" The doors closed just as Todd began to give Ace a long winded speech about how everyone else in the building can remember their password after two weeks and how he still hadn't memorized it.

Carmelita was soon back in her office and plugging all the wires back into her computer when a knock came on her door. She yelled from under her desk that it was open and she would be with them in a second. When she got out from under her desk she found the chief standing on the opposite side of her desk. She wasn't startled that he was there. She had been actually expecting this all morning. It was here weekly chewing out because she had yet to catch the Cooper gang. The sad thing was no matter how many different ways the chief worded it; it always boiled down to one simple message. If you don't catch Cooper soon I will demote you or fire you. After enduring the usual thirty minutes of the chief's bellowing, she was able to get back to work.

It was now six in the afternoon, and Carmelita was walking out to her car, ready to head home. She had stayed later then usual, looking up some information for a possible lead on the Cooper gang, but it ended up to be a dead end. She had just gotten into her car, and went to start it, but to her dismay when she turned the key the car sputtered a little, and the stopped working. That was when she remembered that she had been running on empty that morning and was going to get gas. It had completely slipped her mind to go to the gas station over her lunch break, and fill up her gas tank. Carmelita cursed quietly to herself in Spanish, and got out of the car to see if there was anyone still inside that could give her a ride home, since she didn't want to bother trying to get the gas that evening.

Unfortunately, when she looked around the Interpol staff parking lot the only vehicle there other then her own was a light brown pick-up truck. She walked over to it, and looked inside to see that it was pretty clean inside, except for the passenger side, which was occupied with what she guess was a computer monitor. Suddenly a voice from behind her said, "Is there something I can help you with Inspector Fox."

Carmelita spun around to see Todd, standing behind her with his keys in one hand and a brief case in the other. Carmelita blushed slightly, due to the embarrassment of asking this one time acquaintance for a ride, and she said, "Yeah, you see my car is out of gas, and was wondering if you could..."

Todd cut her off by using the cars remote to unlock the car. He then set his brief case in the truck bed and said, "Hand me that monitor, will put it in back her so you can have some room to sit." Carmelita did as she was asked and picked the monitor up, surprised by its weight.

She handed him the monitor as she said, "Didn't know computers were that heavy anymore."

Todd chuckled as he took the monitor from her and set it in the back. He then motioned for her to get in the truck as he said, "Yep, even though technology is getting lighter and smaller, you can still find some monitors and printers that are built like cinder blocks." Carmelita laughed at this, and got into the car as Todd opened his door to get in. In few moments they were off. Carmelita was surprised when Todd turned on his radio and turned it to a station she didn't even know exist. When she asked Todd about he said, "I have satellite radio Inspector. I manly use it to keep in touch with what's going one back in the western united states."

Carmelita asked, "You're from the US?"

Todd nodded and said, "Yep, I was actually born here, in Paris, but my family moved to a small town in central Wyoming when I was very young. So, I was raised on this stuff, in a town of around 5,000 people, if you can believe that. I came back here 5 years ago when I took the tech job with Interpol, and I still can't get enough of the stuff." Carmelita was satisfied with the answer Todd had given her, and used the remainder of the ride to see what kind of stuff the people of Wyoming listened to.

Todd dropped Carmelita by her house a few minutes later, and after saying a quick good by, he headed down the street. He stopped at the stop signed and watched as Carmelita went into her house. Once he was sure she was inside he made a right turn, and began to head home him self. It only took him a few minutes to reach his residence. It was a medium sized house on the edge of town. It stood alone, being out of the way for the common traveler. He pulled into the two car garage beside a large blue van that had flames painted on it, and a satellite dish on the top. He turned off his truck, and headed inside, where he was met by the smell of a wonderful dinner being cooked by the houses chef. He walked down the hallway that went past the four bedrooms and into the living room where he saw a certain raccoon watching the news, and a certain turtle lost behind the monitor of the computer set up in the corner of the living room. When the raccoon realized that Todd was standing there he said, "Hay, what kept you at Interpol so late."

Todd set his brief case beside the desk where the turtle was sitting and plopped down on the couch. He sighed as he said, "Oh the usual Sly, had to fix a problem with the server and do the few favors Bentley asked me to do there." That made the Bentley reach down and picked up Todd's brief case, getting the hint that the files he had requested were on the portable hard drive Todd kept in his brief case. Todd smiled when he heard Bentley typing on the computer furiously, knowing that meant he had gotten the correct files for the brains of the Cooper gang. He then turned his attention back to Sly, the raccoon master thief who was now channeling surfing like a pro. Todd said, "Well, how were things here. Anything happen."

Sly just shrugged and said, "Nope, Bentley spent the day trying to find use something to steal, and Murry and I passed a few hours playing a game on the Playstation 2, but other then that nothing much."

Todd nodded, and after watching the TV a few moments he got an evil smile on his face as he said, "Oh, one other thing happened at work today."

Sly, turned his head to Todd had a smile on his face, a smile Sly had learned meant he was about to spill something that would drive either himself, Bentley, or Murry wild. Sly finally gave in to his curiosity and asked, "Okay, what happened."

Todd just continued to smile as he said, "I got to talk to Carmelita today."

Sly was curious beyond reason, and asked, "Let me guess, you finally decided to go see what she looked like after all the stories you have heard about our heists."

"Actually no, she came to my office. Her computer was giving her trouble. I got her sorted out and she left as the biggest thorn in my side came down to ask what his password was again."

Sly chuckled, knowing how much Constable Ace aggravated Todd. He then said, "So, that was it."

Todd shook his head, that evil smile returning to his again as he said, "No, I also saw her again later. I had worked late, and it was 6:05 when I left my office to go to the truck. As I turned the corner of the building I saw Carmelita yet again, peering into the passenger side window of the truck. When I came up I found out her car was out of gas, and she was wondering if I could give her a ride home."

Sly was now laughing, imaging how embarrassed Carmelita would be when she had to ask a one time acquaintance for a ride home. After a while he calmed down a bit, and asked, "Now, you got her in your truck, and if I know you, you turned your radio to that same radio station that you are always listening to."

Todd shrugged his shoulders and smiled as he said, "Guilty as charged. Now, with that out of the way, when did Murry say dinner would be?"

Bentley stuck his head out from behind his computer and said, "He decided to make some barbeque ribs tonight, and said they would be done by 7:00. What time is it now?"

Sly turned his head to check the wall clock and said, "It is 6:55. They must be close to done."

Todd stretched, got up, and said, "I think I'll go help him get the table set. What do you want to drink?"

Sly replied, "Knowing Murry, the ribs will be a bit spicy so I'll just have some water.

"Same here," Bentley said, as he began to get up from his chair, cleaning his glasses.

Todd nodded and headed into the kitchen, followed by Sly and Bentley a few minutes later when Murray had called them from the kitchen that dinner was ready.


	2. A Dark Plan Uncovered

_Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and the Cooper gang are property of Sucker Punch and I am just using them to entertain the masses with a good story. I only own the character Todd and the other elements of the story I have created my self._

Chapter 2

A dark plan uncovered

It was now a Thursday noon hour when Todd was about to leave his tech office for lunch when his phone rang. Against his better judgment he picked it up and said, "Hello, you have reach the Internal Computer tech department, can I ask who is calling."

"Yeah, this is the chief, and this blasted computer is acting up again. I want you up here now, and I expect it to be fixed when I get back from lunch." With that the chief slammed his phone down causing Todd to get a nice final blast at his end. He sighed as he hung up the phone and headed for the elevator the main level. In a few moments he exited the elevator that lead down to his office. He turned to face a key hole that was underneath the call button, and after using his key to shut the elevator down he headed for the main elevators that accessed the upper floors. He soon found him self on the top floor, where many of the higher officers had their offices. He walked down to the end of the hallway, stopping at the one at the very end. He lightly knocked on the door. After a few moments the door opened to reveal a very aggravated chief. The chief just huffed at him and head down the hallway Todd had just come down, heading off to his usually long lunch hour.

Todd had to spend five minutes working on the chief's computer before he found what the problem was and easily corrected it. He was about getting up to leave when an idea popped into his head. He knew the chief would be gone for at least an hour, and so he decided to do a little snooping. He skimmed the chief's files for a few minutes when he came across what seemed to be employ records. Being curious he decided to look up his name in the files. He found his easily enough, and saw that their were several statistics such as days absent from work, a list of complaints, a list of compliments, vacation time available, days called in sick, a overall rating on a scale of 0-5 stars, 5 being the best, and finally a quick comment from the chief. Todd was satisfied with what he saw and decided to do Sly a favor and get him Carmelita's personal file.

After a bit more digging he was able to find Carmelita's file. Unlike many of the other files it had been placed in a folder with only three other's. Unable to guess why her file was in the folder he decided to open up her statistics and see if he could find anything else out. The statistic form for officers was exactly the same except it had one additional field. It was the officer's arrest percentage. He was pleased to see Carmelita had a 99 arrest and conviction rate. He was even happier knowing that the other 1 was none other then his good friend, Sly Cooper. He continued to look and saw she had missed no days of work this year, no valid complaints, several good compliments from colleagues, she had amassed a months worth of vacation time, had called in sick for work only a few times, and had a performance rating of 5 stars. He was sure that was why she was in the folder with only a few other people, but then he read the comment the chief had added at the bottom of the report.

**Carmelita has proven to be a valuable asset to Interpol since the day she became an officer, but it is now believed she may be a spy for the Cooper gang. Due to the most recent events of her being pictured with Sly Cooper at the time the Clockwork wings had been stolen, and the fact cooper had escaped the helicopter she was the sole guard of has made many wonder where her allegiance lies. So, on the third Monday of the month of August I will be suspending Inspector Fox for a week so that an investigation may occur. This investigation will help us determine if we can trust Carmelita. If substantial evidence is found against her, upon her return to Interpol I will strip her of her badge and shock pistol.**

Todd was flabbergasted, and knew he had to tell Sly about this ASAP. Todd knew that unless they did something to help her, Carmelita was as good as gone. He quickly copied the file and e-mailed it to Bentley, making sure he would check it as soon as he received it. Todd just hoped Bentley was going to check his e-mail when he usually did, otherwise it would go unnoticed until he got back to the house. Todd quickly closed out of anything, left his usually note about what he had done, and left the chief's office exactly as he had found it. Leaving absolutely no trace of what he had discovered. He then quickly, yet casually walked to the elevator, and pressed the button for the second floor, where the cafeteria was located along with the gym and break area.

His heart had calmed down slightly from the rush of his discovery when the elevator doors finally open and he stepped out onto the second floor. He made his usual route of heading straight to the lunch line, getting his food, and heading to his favorite spot. A two person table situated very close to the large windows that allowed light in and everyone to see the beautiful skyline of Paris. He had been munching on his sandwich by himself, enjoying the sight through the window. He was so rapped up in his own thoughts about what he had just discovered that he didn't even notice someone sit down across from him. He continued to gaze into the distance until he heard someone say, "What is so interesting about that view?"

Todd quickly turned his head, and he then finally noticed the Carmelita had just taken a seat across from him. Though he would rather not of, the surprise of her presence had caused him to choke on his sandwich and he had to give a few good coughs to clear his throat. After he had cleared his throat of obstruction he said, "Don't startle me like that. Almost gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. Still, what is so interesting about that view?" Carmelita asked as she took a bit out of her own sandwich.

Todd took a sip of his soda and then said, "Well, when you work in an absolutely windowless office, you grow to appreciate how nice it is to see out a window.'

Carmelita nodded and turned her head to look out the window herself. Todd didn't however. He kept looking at Carmelita, debating if he should tell her about what the chief had in store for her. He was about to say something when to burly constables walk up to the table. One was a lion, in a pair of blue jeans and black t-shirt that showed off his muscles. His companion was a black panther Inspector, he war a very formal black business suit, with a white under shirt and black tie, making him look like he was a member of the Men in Black.

Todd had noticed them walking up, and was about to say something when the lion shoved him out of his chair, and sat down in his place. The lion said a romantically as he could, "Hay beautiful, why don't I treat you to dinner later, then maybe we could hit the movies, or take a stroll through this lovely park I know of." Carmelita had turned her head at the strange voice coming from where Todd had just been sitting. She looked over to see Todd was now just standing up from the floor and dusting himself off. Carmelita was about to give the lion a fat lip when Todd shook his head as he walked over and tapped the lion on the shoulder.

The lion turned, looking very anger for someone disturbing him. Todd wasn't fazed by this as he said, "Excuse me; I do believe you are in my chair."

The lion stood up and began to crack his knuckles as he said, "So, what you going to do about it blue boy."

Todd's eyes narrowed slightly at the blue boy comment, but he kept his composure as he said, "I propose we duel, say in the gym, right now."

The lion smiled as he said, "Yeah, sure, why not. I could use some practice with a punching bag." With that Todd motioned toward the gym and the lion walked passed him, the panther following close behind. Todd waited a minute and then followed the to muscle bound officers into the gym. It soon became evident to everyone in the area that there was going to be a fight, and the gym soon began to fill with spectators to this once in a while event. Carmelita had managed to squeeze into the gym and now was standing on the edge of the fighting mat that was in the gym for just such event. The only difference was on a normal occasion when two fought on this it was only so they could practice there martial arts, and hopefully not hurt their sparing partner. This was different though, for Carmelita could see the lion meant business. Todd seemed completely at ease, even though the lion was now popping his knuckles for the pure effect of trying to scare him. Todd showed no signs of worry as he carefully removed his glasses and placed them in his chest pocket. The panther walked up between the two and said, "All right, let's get this started, on the count of three." The panther turned and returned to the edge of the mat before he said, "Okay, One…Two…Three."

The lion charged at Todd the second the fight began, and swung his fist at him with amazing force. Todd just stood there, and then at the last possible moment he dodged the fist flying at his face. Then, while the lion was off balance Todd moved behind him with blinding speed and gave him a strong enough shove in the back to make him fall flat on his face. The crowed erupted with laughter and a bit of cheering from those who had hoped Todd would win the fight. The lion got up after staying on the ground a few moments. He then charged at Todd, fists flailing because of the anger he now had toward the blue fox. Todd simply dodged each punch, and after five minutes of doing that ducked to avoid another punch directed at his head, and drove his own fist into the gut of the lion. Several people cheered as Todd took his glasses out of his pocket, and began to slowly head towards the door as he put them on. Todd then heard click from behind him, and he turned to see the lion had drawn his shock pistol, and was about to fire at him.

There was a dead silence as everyone waited to see what would happen. The lion began to smile as he pulled the trigger of the shock pistol, and sent a powerful electric blast at the calm blue fox. Todd turned around and got the blast square in the chest, causing him to fly back a few feet and hit the mat with quite a bit of force.

The lion had gotten up and was now putting his shock pistol away when he noticed that Todd began to stir. To everyone's amazement Todd slowly got up, holding his right arm across his chest. The lion was seriously spooked by the fact this blue fox had remained conscious, even though his shock pistol had been set to knock out. He took a few steps back as the Todd took off his now cracked glasses and said, "So, this is the honor of an Interpol officer, to shoot a guy when he has his back turn. Well, I am personally appalled by your behavior, and I think its time you learned a lesson." Todd stood still for a few seconds before he ran full speed up to the lion, and grabbed him by his collar, suspending him in the air with one arm. As he glared at the lion he said, "Now, I would hope in the future you would show a better respect for others. You never know when one will just refuse to take your cruddy attitude and teach you a much harsher lesson." Todd then let the message sink into the Lion before he threw him down on the mat. With out another word Todd headed for the door, and as he left he threw his glasses away in the trash.

The spectators soon began to flow out of the gym, Carmelita among them. She looked around the cafeteria and saw that Todd had finished what was left of his lunch and was now throwing his trash away. Carmelita tried to reach him, but the crowd proved to thick and by the time she got free, Todd was no where to be seen. She thought that he must have decided to go home for the day, to get a new pair of glasses and have time to heal from the shock pistol blast. She shrugged as she said, "I'll just have to thank him next time I see him for putting that butt head lion in his place."


	3. The Plan to Save a Damsel

_Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and the Cooper gang are property of Sucker Punch and I am just using them to entertain the masses with a good story. I only own the character Todd and the other elements of the story I have created my self._

Chapter 3

The plan to save a damsel

Todd was back at the house in thirty minutes flat; a little slow due to the noon hour traffic. He pulled into the garage, and was in the house a few minutes later. He was walking down the hallway, past everyone's bedrooms when he heard a shout coming from the living room. Upon reaching the living room he had seen that Sly had been able to beat Murry at a video game the Murry usually dominated. Murry was already in the process of demanding a rematch when he noticed Todd standing there, looking a little ragged. Murry turned his attention away from Sly to ask, "Hay Todd, what are you doing home so early. Not feeling well."

Todd just nodded as he walked over to a reclining chair and sat down, rubbing his chest area. He then opened the drawer of a near by end table and pulled out his spare pair of glasses. He examined them a second and as he put them on said, "Yeah, I got pegged in the chest by a shock pistol blast. So, I should say I have a really pain in my chest." Todd then began to tell them about how his lunch hour had gone, and about the fight he had with the lion Constable. After he finished Murry had gone to the bathroom to get Todd something to kill the pain while Sly both applauded him for standing up for himself and Carmelita, and grumbling about how that lion had pulled such a cheap shot. By this time Murry returned with the pain relievers and Todd swallowed the pills with a small bit of water. It then occurred to him that Bentley was no where to be seen. When Todd asked about it Sly said, "He had stayed up late last night, trying to find us a job. Me and Murry found him this morning slumped over the computer, fast asleep. He should be up by now."

As if on cue a very tired looking turtle came walking into the living room. With out even noticing the others he plopped down on the couch and let out a very loud yawn. Todd, Sly, and Murray chuckled to them selves slightly, and waited as Bentley finally realized who was in the room with him. When he noticed Todd was sitting there he looked at the clock and asked, "Shouldn't you be at work."

Todd just said, "I'll tell you later why I came home early, but right now I need you get on the computer. I e-mailed a very important file home, and we need to look at it now." Bentley grumbled slightly as he got up and walked over to his computer which was still connected to the Thief Net home page. After a bit of typing and clicking Bentley had gotten to his mail-box and opened the priority document Todd had e-mailed him. He sat their a moment and read the document, and when he was reading the end of Carmelita report his eyes went wide, and quickly motion for Sly and Murry to get over to his computer. Soon, Sly and Murry understood why Bentley's eyes had grown huge, for there eyes were now at a similar size. They turned over to Todd and asked, "How did you get this."

Todd just sighed and said, "The chief had me do some work on his computer while he was out to lunch. I fixed the problem rather quickly and found I had plenty of time before the chief was due back, so I decided to snoop a little. That is not important right now. What is important is how are we going to help Carmelita keep her job?"

Sly, Bentley, and Murry walked over and sat around the coffee table, Sly and Murry on the couch, and Bentley sitting in the reclining chair opposite of Todd. They all sat in silence for a moment or two and then Bentley asked, "Okay, let's think. What can the higher ups at Interpol use against Carmelita in this matter?"

Todd answered, "Well, I though about that on my way home, and I can name a few facts and items that can be used against her. The biggest two are the photo of you two dancing at Rajan's party, and the fact that you escaped from an Interpol helicopter she was the sole guard of. We also have to consider the fact it looks quite suspicious that half the stuff you steal ends up on her desk the next morning. We also have to worry about how it looks that an officer with a 99 arrest and conviction rate can't catch a certain raccoon, even though she has been on the case for several years now."

Bentley nodded and said, "Yep, I think that is all the evidence they would be able to muster up if they were truly doing an investigation into the matter.'

Murry said, "Yeah, the whole investigation part of the comment may be a lie the people at Interpol Central Command feed the chief of the Interpol office. She may all ready be as good as fired."

Sly temper finally got out of control and he began to storm toward the door. Todd realized what Sly was planning on doing and he quickly got up and got head of Sly, blocking the hallway that lead to the bedrooms and the garage. Sly glared at Todd as he said, "Get out of my way. I am going to go show those dang Interpol numb skulls that they should be worrying about my, and not Carmelita's intentions."

Todd shock his head and said, "Sly, unless you have a death wish, you are going to stay here and help me, Bentley, and Murry figure how we can help Carmelita." Sly and Todd stood perfectly still, as each tried to stare down the other.

Finally Sly's senses came back to him and he walked back to the couch as he said, "So, what do you suggest we do. The thing I can think of that would clear Carmelita's name is if she caught me."

Todd returned to his chair and said, "Well, we can't have that so here is what I propose we do. First, we need to destroy the most deadly of all the evidence against Carmelita, the photo of her dancing with Sly."

Sly said, "Do we really have to destroy the picture. I would like to send it to Carmelita."

Todd did a double take and asked, "Why do you want to give her that picture."

Sly smiled as he said, "It will be the anniversary of when we first met. I would like to send it to her as a sort of Anniversary present."

After hearing what Sly had planned for that picture Todd and Murry chuckled and Bentley sighed as he rubbed his eyes out of frustration. Todd then said, "All right Sly, and now back to business. I know where the image is stored in the Interpol mainframe, but I don't know what happened to the negatives and two hard copies of the photo."

"Don't worry, leave that to me. With that link up you gave me into the Interpol main frame, I will be able to find them right quick," said Bentley as he walked over to his computer to get to work.

Todd nodded his thank you to Bentley and then continued by saying, "Okay, second order of business. Sly, you once told me that while you were escaping that Helicopter ride after the Clock-la incident that you had taken the tape from the Helicopters interior security camera system."

Sly eyes widened as he said, "Your right, I still have it in my room somewhere."

Todd smiled and said, "Good, that can be used to prove you escaped from the helicopter underneath Carmelita's nose, not with her help. Now, as we continue down our list of evidence we need to deal with our next item is the simple fact that half the stuff you steal Sly ends up on Carmelita's desk the next morning."

Murry said, "Yeah Sly that is a bit suspicious."

Sly smiled and said, "Don't worry. I think I just figured out a plan. First, Todd will need to install a security camera inside Carmelita's office."

Todd just nodded and Sly continued by saying, "Then, I'll pull off a real quick and easy heist."

Todd tilted his head in wonder and asked, "Such as..."

Sly shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know. How about the Demon Sapphire on display at the Paris Natural History Museum. That is difficult enough for my skills, and yet simple enough we could pull it off tomorrow night."

"Okay, quick question. Why haven't you stolen it before if it is such a quick job?" Todd asked, as he began to clean his glasses, a habit he had developed when ever he was thinking over difficult problems.

Bentley piped up from behind computer whet odd asked this, and said, "I have been holding that job off, because the Demon Sapphire is a very valuable jewel, but would also be very easy to sell over Thief Net. Thus making it our form of emergency funding, incase something were to happen."

Todd turned and eyed Bentley over his glasses as he said, "You mean if we were hard up for cash, Sly would steal that and get us out of the hole."

Bentley shrugged his shoulder and said, "Yeah that pretty much hits the nail on the head, but since Carmelita's suspension starts next Monday we have to use it. When could you have a camera set up in her office?"

Todd thought a second and then said, "It wouldn't take to long to actually install it. The hard part would be finding a wireless camera unit in that back storage room. I know there are a few back there, but they were there before I came to Interpol, so they are lost somewhere in the mess."

"Well, I think we should all head in there and find it." Sly said as he got up from the couch and began walking to his bedroom.

It took Todd a second to register what he had said, but once it did he said with worry in his voice, "Are you crazy? Why do you want to go there now? Its barley 1:30 and the place is still swarming with every Interpol officer on the pay role."

Bentley got up from his computer and said, "I'm sorry to admit it, but I agree with Sly. We need to go now because I just found out where the negatives and hard copies of that photo are, and that the chief has it scheduled that he was going to go down to the archives at 4:00 this afternoon to collect those items."

Todd continued to stare in disbelief, the chief was moving much faster then he usually would have, meaning that he wasn't the one that requested Carmelita be put on suspension. It must have been one of his supervisors from the Interpol Central Office. He was so rapped up in his own thoughts he didn't notice the others head off to their rooms. By the time he noticed they were gone Bentley had returned in a very convincing disguise. He had pulled on a formal Business suit, and put in some black sunglasses. Todd looked at him a second and then asked, 'So, what are you supposed to be."

"I'm am a representative from the Central New York Interpol Office, here on request by superiors to pick up some evidence on a criminal that is being tried in the states for crimes all around the world. This evidence is located in the back store room of Todd Element's office."

Todd shook his head. He had to admit that Bentley had sound very convincing just then. If Todd didn't know better he would have been completely fooled. He then heard Sly's door open and close and did a double take when he saw Sly's disguise. Sly was also dressed up in a full black business suit like Bentley's, but when he came in he quickly flashed a very convincing Interpol badge at Todd as he said, "Inspector Edward Stevens. Transfer from the Interpol office in Denver Colorado." Sly then handed Todd a set of official looking transfer papers, and they were perfect forgeries down to the signature of the head of the Interpol office in Denver.

Todd laughed and said, "You look very official Mr. Stevens. I don't think Carmelita would even recognize you, but I wouldn't go pushing your luck. You got that Mr. Stevens."

Sly took the papers back from Todd and said, "I am strictly a professional Mr. Element."

Todd shook his head knowing that Sly wasn't one to keep his word in a matter like not speaking to Carmelita. He then turned back to Bentley and asked, "Okay, so where is Murry, Isn't he coming? As if on cue a loud car horn blast came from the garage and Todd figured out that Murry was going to be the driver and nothing more. Todd stood up and followed Bentley and Sly to the garage, and while Sly and Bentley got into the Cooper van Todd walked up to its side and opened a hidden door to reveal a key pad. He quickly entered in a three number sequence and stepped back as the vans camouflage circuitry kicked in and the paint slowly turned completely black, hiding any evidence that is was the get away van for the infamous Cooper gang. Todd got into his truck and followed Murry, Sly, and Bentley to the Interpol building.


	4. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

_Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and the Cooper gang are property of Sucker Punch and I am just using them to entertain the masses with a good story. I only own the character Todd and the other elements of the story I have created my self._

Chapter 4

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Once the gang was outside of the Interpol building they waited for Todd to arrive from parking his truck in the employee parking. He then motioned for them to follow him and they entered enemy territory, with failure not being an option. Todd then pulled Sly off to the side and said, "Okay, the Archives are on the 5th floor, and the chief is due to arrive there in an hour. That is how long you have to find the negatives and the prints. Bentley is going to come with me, and help me look for the wireless security camera. When you have the photo, you are to come to my office directly." Sly began to walk away before Todd caught up to him again and whispered, "Oh, and if you see Carmelita don't talk to her. She may not recognize you by your looks, but she will recognize your voice."

Sly smiled his usual, **trust me**, smile and then walked off, leaving Todd very worried that the next time he would see him, is in hand cuffs and being hauled off to a high security prison. He was brought back to reality by Bentley who had nudged him slightly. He then led Bentley to the elevator that went down to his office, so they could search for the essential wireless security camera. On the opposite side of the atrium Sly was entering an elevator and was heading up to the fifth floor. Once he arrived he followed the signs posted on the wall. In a few minutes he found a door that had the word **Archives** printed on it. He entered the door and found a security gate with a guard sitting on the opposite side. He tapped on the clear glass barrier and alerted the guard to his presence. The germen shepherd walked up to the intercom on his side of the wall and pressed the button to activate it. He then spoke into it and asked, "Who are you, and what is your business."

Sly disguised his voice slightly and said, "Inspector Edward Stevens. Transfer from the Interpol office in Denver Colorado. This is my first time to Archives. I need to take a look at an old case; I think it may tie into the one I am working on." The guard nodded, accepting the response and pressed the button that released the lock on the glass door. Sly walked in and walked into the massive Archives area. He guessed that it took up at least half of the floor if not more. He then suddenly realized that he had no clue where the negatives and prints could be. He walked back up to the German shepherd on duty, which was now reading the paper and asked, "I'm sorry to bother you, but do you have a directory or something." The Shepherd looked up from his paper and then pointed to a small computer sitting a few yards away. Sly thanked him and went over to the computer. He started up the program that kept track of the stuff in the Archives and entered Carmelita's name into the search engine. He was about to click search when something popped up on the screen.

Sly glanced at it a second and saw it was an e-mail from Todd. It said, "Sly, I know it's you because of the search. You have to get that picture now. I just intercepted an e-mail from the chief to his secretary that he is heading down there right now. You have 10 minutes tops to get the picture and get out. HURRY!" Sly quickly closed the e-mail window and searched the asset program. It showed only one case that had Carmelita as the subject of, and it was one located in the very back of the archive office. He quickly turned and head toward the left corner of the room. When he got there he began to search for the box that contained the items he needed, but found the box in question was gone.

That is when he realized that the German shepherd had a box sitting beside his chair that look quite dusty. Sly knew instantly that it had to be the box he was looking for. Sly knew he was running out of time, but then he got an idea. He walked over to a particularly wobbly set of shelves and then pushed it with all his might. That caused the shelves to fall over, and start a domino effect taking out the entire row of shelves. Sly could hear the guard running toward where he was. He quickly ducked into a space between a set of shelves and the nearby wall.

He waited there until he saw the guard run by his spot and continue heading toward the commotion Sly had created. Once he sure the guard was gone he rushed back to where the door was, and when he arrived he saw the box was still sitting beside the guards chair. He quickly check the outside to make sure it was the right box, and then picked it up and was out the door and heading for the elevator. Sly looked around as he pressed the call button and got on an elevator bound for the ground floor. With another elevator opening a few seconds later, the chief stepping out and heading toward the archives.

As Sly stepped out of the elevator on the main floor of Interpol he looked around to make sure no one would notice him taking this case box down to Todd's office, and he then made his way coolly to the elevator and pressed the call button. The elevator had arrived, Sly had stepped in, and the doors were about to close when he heard a familiar female voice call out to hold the elevator. Against his better judgment he did stop the elevator doors from closing and a in a few seconds who should come walking into the elevator but Carmelita.

Carmelita thanked the stranger for holding the door and pressed the button that sent the elevator going down to the Todd's office. During the short elevator ride Carmelita couldn't shake the feeling that she knew this guy from some where. She couldn't dwell on the thought for to long though because the elevator doors soon opened and the pair could see Todd tinkering with something on his work bench.

When Todd heard the elevator doors close he turned and said, "Hello Inspector Fox and Inspector Stevens." Sly, to Todd's relief just waved and walked back to the door beside Todd's desk and into the back room. Todd watched Sly leave and then turned to Carmelita and said, "Now, to what do I owe the honor Inspector Fox."

"I just wanted to come see if you were all right. I was surprised to hear you had come back to work today." Carmelita said as she walked over and sat down on Todd's work bench.

Todd just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, time and work wait for no man. I just got to much stuff to work on today, and if I don't keep up the whole building could suffer."

Todd and Carmelita continued to talk while Sly made his way through rows of shelves in Todd's back room. The items on the shelves and floor seemed to be anything and everything that Interpol refuse to sell or just throw away. Sly saw old type writers down there that could be dated back to his grandfather's prime. Sly finally found where Bentley, and to his surprise Murray were searching the shelves for the last part Todd needed to make the wireless security camera work. He walked up to Bentley and said, "Here, I think I got the negatives and prints of the dance I had with Carmelita at Rajan's party."

Bentley turned from the shelf he was searching and said, "To be on the safe side lets open the box here and make sure we have the negatives and prints." Sly nodded his head in agreement and set the box nearby slightly cluttered table. He opened the box and began to rummage through the box. Among the thing he found were at least a dozen of his calling cards, a few meaning less police reports, and finally, at the bottom of the box, the negatives and prints of the incriminating photo. He pulled the prints out of the box and handed the pair to Bentley and Murray. While Sly was examining the strip of negative photos, trying to find the right one Bentley and Murray got to see the photo of the dance for the first time. Bentley and Murray were both surprised at how much Sly and Carmelita appeared to be enjoying the dance. Like they could only be happy if in each others company. Bentley and Murray had joked over the past few months how Sly should try to get a date with Carmelita, and how she would enjoy it so much. Now, after seeing this photo, they realized that their joke may not be as far fetched as they thought.

They were both brought back to reality when the case box fell off the table it had been placed on, producing a loud crash. They turned to see Sly had gone to leaning against the table. He had been putting too much of his weight on the table, and that caused it to slid out from under him suddenly. If it had not been for Sly's thieving reflexes he would have been on his back right beside the box on the floor. Sly had already begun picking up the box and praying to god that Carmelita hadn't heard the crash.

Unfortunately Carmelita and Todd did hear the crash, and before Todd could stop her Carmelita had gone through the door into the back room. She was jogging at a decent pace, wondering if the guy she had met in the elevator was okay when she turned a corner and saw Sly, Bentley and Murray. Even though Sly was still in his disguise the presence of Bentley and Murray helped Carmelita realized why this stranger was so familiar to her. This Inspector Stevens was none other then Sly Cooper, and before Sly, Bentley or Murray could react she had her shock pistol out and pointed right at the thieving raccoon.

Todd didn't have to wait more then ten minutes before he saw Sly, Bentley, and Murray being lead out of his back room at the other end of Carmelita's shock pistol. Carmelita had completely forgotten about Todd, and was completely focused on Sly and his cohorts. She lead them toward the elevator and said, "Okay Ringtail, push the call button on the elevator."

Sly only smiled as he said, "Your wish is my command my fair Carmelita."

Carmelita said, in a now slightly irritated voice, "Kill the flirty chit chat Cooper, and just press the button." Sly just shrugged his shoulder in defeat and pushed the button to call the elevator, but something was wrong. The power seemed to be out on the elevator, and even though Sly pressed the button ten times over the elevator doors remain shut. Carmelita got feed up with Cooper, and went up and firmly pressed the button for herself, but she to could not get the elevator to move. Carmelita turned and that is when she realized that Todd had taken out his set of keys and inserted one into a key hole beside his desk, a keyhole that was labeled in big black letters "**ELEVATOR POWER CONTROL"**.

Todd then slowly removed his glasses and said, "I'm sorry Inspector Fox, but I can't let you take Sly into custody just yet." Carmelita's eyes widened as she realized that Todd was a cohort of Sly Cooper. She quickly turned her shock pistol on him and said in a very firm voice, "Unlock the elevator right now, or I'll stun you and do it my self."

Even with Carmelita glaring Todd down if powerful eyes he just shook his head. Carmelita then got the hint Todd could not be convinced to unlock the elevator so she pulled the trigger on the shock pistol. Todd just raised his palm and watched as the shock blast suddenly stopped moving a few inches in front of his hand, he then slowly closed his hand into a fist and the shock blast seemed to just implode on itself. Carmelita stared in disbelief as Todd slowly stood up and walked toward Carmelita. He then placed his hand on Carmelita's shock pistol. A few seconds after Todd had placed his hand on the shock pistol it started to shoot of sparks, and a stream of smoke began to escape from the gun's barrel. Carmelita instinctively pulled the trigger, but got no response from the shock pistol. She kept pulling the trigger, trying to fire of a shoot as Todd walked back to his work bench and opened up a word document on his computer. He then turned to Carmelita and said, "You can stop pulling the trigger now. I just short circuited the whole gun so all you are going right now is making it worse."

Carmelita looked up at Todd, a confused, irritated, and slightly scared look on her face. Todd just stared at his computer monitor a second, and then turned to face Carmelita. He then turned his head to look at Sly, Bentley, and Murray who were still in hand cuffs. Todd brought his hand in up and with a snap of his fingers the hand cuffs flew open and landed on the floor. Todd then opened his palm wide and the three hand cuffs flew into his hands. Carmelita had watched all this, and was fighting a growing sense of fear. She then gasped as Todd raised his arm up and pointed at her. Before she could do anything he had snapped his fingers, and Carmelita had shut her eyes fearing the worse. After a few moments of silence she opened her eyes to see that a chair had risen out of the floor. She turned back to Todd and he motioned for her to sit. He then snapped his fingers again and three more chairs appeared, allowing Sly, Bentley, and Murray to sit down. He then also took a seat and began to clean his glass with a cloth he had kept in his shirts chest pocket.

After a few moments of silence Todd put his glass back on and said, "So, I guess you have some questions you would like to ask us. Well, go right ahead Inspector Fox."

Carmelita stayed silent a few second and then finally said, "How did you just do all that?"

Todd smiled slightly and sighed as he said, "My best kept secret, the only ones who knew anything about it was Sly, Bentley, Murray and myself. You see I am a sort of sorcerer. I can cast the spells written in books and I can make things move, appear, or disappear with the snap of my figures. I am also the only person who has ever mastered the forces of nature."

"The forces of nature?" Carmelita asked with a bit calmer voice.

"Yes. I can control Light, Shadow, Fire, Ice, Water, Lightning, Air and Earth. The earth element encompassing anything that can be found in the ground or growing from it." Todd answered.

"Okay, I guess I can accept that answer, but why in the world are you helping the Cooper gang?"

Todd chuckled as if just told a good joke. He then smiled as he said, "I helped them because I am the Cooper Gang's mystic. When fighting people like Miss Rudy you have to know some one who can remove curses and other spells. I am the last piece that makes the Cooper gang a ready for anything. Sly it the master thief, Murray is the Muscle, Bentley is planner and tech brain, and I protect and help the gang with Magic."

"Okay, but why would Cooper here come to Interpol in the middle of the afternoon, when the place is crawling with officers?" Carmelita asked as she turned her head to shoot a glare at Sly, who was sitting back enjoying the show.

Todd pointed to the computer monitor and said, "He would come here because of that and what is enclosed on that document. You see Inspector Fox; this is your performance report straight from the chief's personal files. I will explain how I came across it later, but you seem to be a module officer Inspector."

Carmelita wondered why this blue fox was talking about her reputation in Interpol. The whole building knew she was the best Inspector on the force; that was no secret. After a few seconds she said, "So, why tell me what I already know."

Todd smile suddenly disappeared as he said, "It seems Carmelita that the chief is getting a lot of heat from the higher ups for not getting Sly behind bars, and rather then take the blame himself he is going to blame you."

"So, the chief comes into my office every Monday to chew me out about it." Carmelita said as she noticed that Sly, who had been watching her the entire time, had now taken his eyes off her. As if he couldn't stand to look at her.

Todd paused a second to gather his thoughts before he said, "If it was only that Carmelita, but I am afraid it gets worse then the chief shouting at you on a weekly bases. You see he must have been telling this same story to the higher up for few years now, because next Monday they are going to start an investigation into the matter. They are putting you on suspension so they investigate the possibility of you being a secret member of the Cooper gang." Todd winced as he said the last part, afraid that Carmelita would explode and he would have to use some of his magic to restrain her. He waited several minutes, but Carmelita didn't go into a rage. She didn't start cussing in both Spanish and English at anything she could find. All she did was sit there as her eyes slowly became distant. Todd was about to ask if she was okay when Carmelita suddenly started to sway and she began to fall off the chair. Luckily for her Sly's fast reflexes allowed him to catch her before she could hit the floor. He slowly brought her up into his arms like a groom would carry his bride and turned to look at Todd.

Todd just sighed and began to rummage in his desk for something as he said, "I was afraid of this. I expected Carmelita to do one of two things if I ever had to tell her about this. One was she would go into a rage and start cursing at the world in general. The other was what has happened. She has gone into a form of emotional shock, she'll be fine in a few hours, but I think she'll have to spend the night with us."

Bentley was out of his chair and almost yelling, "What? Are you insane? We can't take Carmelita to the house, it is the only hide out we have right now." Todd ignored that rest of Bentley's rant as he pulled a small blue book out of his desk drawer and began to flip through the pages. He then found what he was looking for. He turned to face Sly, and after shutting Bentley up with a quick silencing spell he said, "We can't take her out the front door, so I am going to use this spell to teleport you to the house. Bentley will ride home with Murray in the van, and I'll be home after I tell the people at the front desk that Carmelita has left for the day. Keep her at the house until I get home from work. Unfortunately now that I am here I can't leave until five so I'll stay and finish that wireless security camera for Carmelita's office. So, you ready to be teleported."

Sly looked down at Carmelita, and thought to himself, "_She looks so beautiful right now. I can't let them fire her. Thieving wouldn't be any fun with out her always on my tail." _He was then pulled out of his thoughts by Todd who had asked him again if he was ready. Sly nodded and gripped Carmelita tighter, not knowing what to expect when Todd cast the spell.

Todd took a few steps away from Sly. He then lifted his arm in Sly and Carmelita's direction and prepared to snap his fingers as he said,

_We require transport this instant_

_To transport us across a great distance_

_Take these two from here to there_

_From my office to the Cooper Gangs lair_

_Take them with the speed of light_

_But let them be like shadows in the night_

_Hidden and concealed from sight_

With that Todd snapped his fingers. Sly and Carmelita seamed to become mere silhouettes of their usual selves, and they disappeared in a small puff of smoke. Todd then closed his little self made spell book a walked back to his desk. He used his key to turn the elevator back on and then motioned for Bentley and Murray to leave as he said, "You should get home. I don't know how long Carmelita will be out, but if she wakes up and Sly is the only one there, Sly will probably be in for a world of hurt." Bentley and Murray both nodded there head and got into the elevator when it arrived. Todd watched as the door closed and then he turned back to his most recent project.

It was 4:15 when Todd finally finished making the needed modifications to the wireless security camera. He had to rewire it to both broadcast to the department in Interpol responsible for the buildings security, but to also broadcast to Todd's office where it would be first recorded on his computer, and then sent back to Bentley's computer over a direct satellite link. Once it reached Bentley's computer it would be recorded two more times. One of the copies would be a digital file on Bentley's computer and the other a good old VHS tape as a form of hard copy.

Todd gave his work one more look over to make sure it was working and once he was sure it was wired correctly he picked up the light bulb sized camera and headed for Carmelita's office. It didn't take him long to get up to the right floor due to the low level of traffic on the elevator. He was walking down the hallway that lead to Carmelita's office, and was about to open the red door with Carmelita's name on it. He was about to open the door when he heard some one walking around in Carmelita's office. He leaned his head against the door and listened closely to the quite foot steps and slight noises of someone rummaging through stuff in Carmelita's office. Todd didn't know who it was, so he backed away from the door and closed his eyes. Suddenly his shadow separated from his body and slipped under the door. His shadow slid across the floor, and walls until it reached a corner of the wall and ceiling. It didn't move for a second and then two small slights of bright white energy formed in the shadow, and they flew open as if they were the eyes of the shadow. These eyes look around the room a second and the closed. The shadow then shoot across that wall and back out under the door. It reattached to Todd, and after a few moments he opened his eyes.

He had seen what his shadow had seen, and it was the chief rummaging around Carmelita's office. Todd reached forward and grabbed the door handle. He opened the office door and said, "Excuse me Chief, what are you doing?"

The chief turned to see who had interrupted his ransacking of Carmelita's office. He suddenly got the deer in the head lights look and started to stumble with words. He finally just took a deep breath, regained his composure, and said, "I was looking for a file Carmelita promised me she would have on to me over and hour ago. Do you know where she is?"

Todd could tell the chief was lying, but he replied, "Sorry, I don't know where any of Carmelita's files are, and I do believe she has gone home. Got food poisoning of something to that effect. She was looking really pale when I saw here leave."

The Chief nodded his head and said, "Fine, but could you pass a message on to her for me."

Todd nodded his head and said, "Sure, I got to call and tell her I installed the security camera she had asked for. Wanted to catch Sly is the act of leaving his stolen items in her office."

"That sounds like a good idea. It's about time we got some hard evidence on the Cooper Gang, but the message I need you to pass on to Carmelita is contained in the envelope. It is very important and time sensitive so it must be delivered today, got that." Todd nodded as he took the envelope and placed it gently in his shirt pocket. He then went about installing the wireless security camera as the chief left the office. He listened closely and could hear the chief cursing quietly as he walked down the wall toward the elevator.

Todd finished installing the camera and used a quick clean up spell to undo the damage the chief had done. He walked out the door, and was a few feet from the door when he got an idea. He walked back to the door and placed his hand around the door knob. He then muttered a few things under his breath and used his magic to lock the door until Carmelita used her key to unlock it. Making any future attempts of the chief's to find incriminating evidence a useless. Satisfied he checked his watch and noticed it was now 4:55, and with that he walked down the hall, heading home to where his best friends waited, and one fox who he hoped was back to her old self.


	5. Dinner between a Cop and Thief

_Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and the Cooper gang are property of Sucker Punch and I am just using them to entertain the masses with a good story. I only own the character Todd and the other elements of the story I have created my self._

Chapter 5

Dinner between a Cop and Thief

Todd was home in record time, taking every short cut he could think of. When he pulled into the garage and shut off the engine he saw Bentley come into the garage. Todd got out of his car and asked, "So, how is she?"

Bentley sighed and said, "She still hasn't said a word. We've tried everything to snap her out of it. Sly even gave her a peck on the check and she did nothing to retaliate, just kept staring off into space."

Todd walked past Bentley into the living room and saw Carmelita sitting in the center of the couch. He looked around to see Sly and Murray sitting in the two armchairs in the room. Sly looked up and frowned slightly at Todd, while Murray looked up and noticed the envelope in his shirt pocket. Murray asked, "Hay Todd, who's that letter for."

Todd pulled the letter out and said, "This is for Carmelita, it's from the Chief. I caught him snooping around her office when I went to put the security camera in. I got him to leave and then locked the door with a spell so Carmelita's key is the only key in the world that can open it. Now, back to the letter, since she doesn't appear to be any state to read it herself I guess I'll have to read it. The Chief made it very clear that Carmelita had to know the contents of this letter tonight." Todd walked over to the end table and picked up a letter opener that was laying there. He sliced the envelope open and pulled out the contents. It was a single page, and it had the Interpol seal on the top right hand corner. After clearing his throat Todd read the letter. It said,

**To: Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox**

**It has recently come to our attention that since you were giving the Cooper Gang case you have yet to capture the leader of the gang, Sly Cooper. We have also found that around half the items stolen by Mr. Cooper end up on your desk the following morning. We at the Interpol central command find this very suspicious. When we examined your file closer we found you have a 99 arrest and conviction rate, which we applaud you for. Yet upon closer inspection we found that there is evidence of you being in league with the Cooper Gang. This evidence includes a picture taken by at the party held by a currently incarcerated spice dealer named Rajan. This picture depicts you and who we now know was Sly Cooper dancing at said party. This is not as bad as the information told to use by the Chief of Interpol, France Division. He told us that at one time you had captured Sly and were transporting him to nearest Interpol building via an Interpol Helicopter. The last any of your colleagues saw of you and Sly was when the helicopter took off and headed for the Interpol offices. Now according to our most experienced helicopter pilot that flight should have only taken 15-20 minutes. Now according to the Chief of Interpol France you were gone for nearly 2½ hours, and that when you finally landed you were the only one on the helicopter, even though you had taken off with a pilot and Sly Cooper. Though you have proven to be an excellent member of Interpol we find your actions suspicious and must assume the worst until we can prove other wise. So, starting on the 22nd of August, 2005, you will be put on suspension until the 28th. In that time we will review your entire file, and come to a decision about your future at Interpol.**

**Head of the Interpol Central Command**

**Edward Bradford Firefox**

Edward B. Firefox

When Todd finished reading the letter he sighed and looked over to Carmelita. Hearing that letter must have brought her back to reality because while Todd had read Carmelita had laid down on the couch, her back to the group, and started crying. Sly, Todd, Bentley, and Murray knew she needed some time alone and each went to there own rooms.

Todd was laying on his bed, looking about his room, trying to think of something to make Carmelita see that Sly would do anything to see her happy, even though they were on opposite sides of the law. Todd's room was a pretty simple one. In the back corner was his bed, with a blue quilt laying over the sheets and blue pillows. On the wall opposite his bed was a book case crammed full of spell book, a few computer manuals, and other books Todd had gotten over the years. By his bed was a night stand that had his alarm clock, lamp, and a picture standing on it. The picture was of himself, Sly, Bentley, and Murray on his birthday. He had treated them to a night on the town. Dinner at the best Barbeque place in Paris followed by a trip to his favorite night club, which was interestingly called the Blue Fox.

That is when Todd was hit with an idea to good to ignore. He jumped off his bed and walked over to his book shelf and began looking for his old cook book. Upon finding it he flipped through the pages until he found his grandmother's old recipes. He read them over quickly and smiled as he also grabbed the spell book entitled "Magic in the Kitchen, The guide to making any recipe in record time." As he left his room he glanced over into the living room to find Carmelita had fallen asleep on the couch. He walked down to Bentley's room, and slowly opened the door to find Bentley flipping through his favorite sci-fi novel. He quickly shut the door and after a little convincing got Bentley to help with his plan.

Bentley's part in the plan was to keep himself and Murray out of the house until around 10:00. Todd said he would pay them back any money they had to spend to keep them selves entertained. Bentley agreed, but only after Todd told him what he was planning to do. Though Bentley didn't think it wise to surprise Carmelita with something like this he approved and left his room to get Murray and get out of the house. Todd followed him out and then went to Sly's room. He found Sly sitting at his desk, flipping through a scrap book of all his heists.

Todd tapped him on the shoulder as he asked, "Sly, do you still have that Tuxedo that you stole to be able to dance with Carmelita at Rajan's party."

Sly closed the book and looked up Todd and said, "Yeah, why do you ask."

Todd just started heading for the door and said, "You are to be dressed in that Tuxedo and on the 2nd floor patio at 9:00 sharp."

Sly asked, "Okay, but why?"

Todd smiled as he left the room and said, "Trust me, you won't be disappointed." Todd then made his way down the hall and checked the clock that hung in the living room. It was now 7:00 and he still had a lot to do. He ran into the kitchen and laid both his old cook book and Magic in the Kitchen spell book down on the counter. He quickly took a stock of the kitchen and was happy to find all his needed ingredients were there from the weekly shopping trip. He then bent over the spell book and read a few lines. After memorizing the instructions Todd moved to the center of the kitchen and surveyed the location of everything in the kitchen. He then raised his right arm to about shoulder height and snapped his fingers once. That caused every drawer, cabinet, and also the refrigerator to pop open. He then began to mutter something under his breath the food began flying out of the fridge and a few cabinets along with several pots, pans, and other cooking utensils. From then until around 8:00 the kitchen was considered a danger zone due to the many flying items that included, knives, potato, and many other kitchen stuff. At 8:05 Todd left the kitchen with both books under his arm and smiling as he said, "The best food I've ever made, even with this spell book. Now, up to the 2nd floor."

Todd then stormed up to the 2nd floor and went out onto the medium sized patio that was suspended over the back yard. He went over to the railing and saw there lawn furniture sitting under the patio. After sitting there for a while, thinking, he took a few steps back and snapped his fingers. In a few seconds the wooden lawn furniture came flying from underneath the patio and over top of the railing to land softly in the exact center of the patio.

Todd looked at the table for a few seconds. It looked like a table you would find at a campsite, and it was unsuited for what Todd was planning. He walked over and placed his hand on the table and focused his mind on making the table what he needed it. The table's wood soon became like liquid and started to reform itself into a table you would expect to see at a fine dinning restaurant, including two comfortable yet fancy chairs. Todd smiled at his handy work and with a snap of his fingers summoned a cardboard box from the attic of the house. He rummaged in the box and found the white table cloth he had been searching for. He laid it out on the table, and went back to the box. After several trips a candle lit dinner for two had been set up on the outdoor patio.

Todd left the patio and headed down to the living room right as the clock struck 8:55. He saw Sly come out of his room in the tuxedo. Todd nodded in approval and motioned toward the stairs as he said, "Please head up stairs. Your diner guest will be up in a few minutes." As Todd said the last part he motioned toward Carmelita who was still asleep on the couch. An excited grin grew on Sly's face as he imagined having a dinner under the stars with his favorite Inspector. Todd shooed him up the stairs and then walked toward Carmelita. He shook her shoulder lightly and roused her from her sleep. Carmelita looked up at Todd and asked, "What do you want, criminal."

Todd laughed at this and said, "Why have you all ready started labeling me with that name? Well, that is beside the point, you up for some dinner."

Carmelita shook her head, but her stomach suddenly let out a loud growl indicating that she was indeed up for some dinner. Feeling betrayed by her own stomach she slowly got up from the couch and asked, "Okay, so where is the dinning room."

Todd smiled as he said, "Oh, dear Carmelita. You are not eating at our old diner table. You will dine under the stars up on the second floor patio. Please allow me to show you." Todd then led Carmelita up to the 2nd floor patio and opened the sliding door. When Carmelita saw who was sitting at the table where Todd had said she would be eating she immediately turned her head and glared at Todd, but her hunger eventually got the better of her and she head out to met Sly for dinner. Todd muttered something under his breath just before Carmelita stepped through the door way, and then smiled as he headed down to the kitchen to get the couples first course. That is after sealing the sliding door with a spell so Carmelita couldn't leave until the dinner was done.

When Sly saw Carmelita coming he said, "Why Carmelita, I didn't know you cared."

Carmelita huffed as she said, "What are you talking about Ringtail."

Sly smiled as he said, "Why, you got all dressed up for me. I am truly touched."

Carmelita was about to chew Sly out until she looked down and saw that she was in the same dress she had been wearing when she and Sly had danced at Rajan's party. She quietly cursed Todd, knowing it was he doing before she took a seat across from Sly. She looked around and saw that the area was being lit by a patio light, and that the candles weren't lit. She said, "Yeah, well you sure pulled out all the stops up here Cooper. The candles aren't even lit."

As if on cue the patio light went out and the candles lit themselves as Todd walked out the door, dressed in a waiter's uniform, and carrying Sly and Carmelita's food like he was a real waiter. He slowly placed the bowls full of a nice hot tomato soup on both there plates and then bowed as he back off and said, "Sly, call me when you two are ready for your next course." Todd then turned and left through the sliding door, still needing to prepare last part of his little gift to Sly and Carmelita.

Sly and Carmelita ate in silence until Todd brought there main course, a prime cut of steak with mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and a small salad on the side. As soon as Todd left Sly spoke up and said, "So, how are things at Interpol? I mean minus the whole suspension thing."

Carmelita huffed as she cut of a piece of her steak and placed it in her mouth. After she swallowed she said, "I must admit Cooper. Todd is quite the cook."

Sly smiled thankful that Todd's cooking finally got Carmelita to make conversation. He replied, "Yeah, he rarely does the cooking, but when he does it is always wonderful. So, you feel like telling me about thing at Interpol."

Carmelita took another bite of steak, and after finishing her piece said, "And why should I do that Ringtail?"

Sly replied, "You should because every time I am working, you seem to be there to make my day interesting. So, feel like talking now my fair lady."

Carmelita took another bite of steak, trying to avoid the question, but she knew Sly would keep pushing the question until she told him. So, she decided to get it over with rather then have Cooper nag her about it all night. After finishing the piece of steak in her mouth she said, "Fine, I'll tell you about my wonderful life at Interpol. Let's see, every Monday the chief comes in and chews my butt out because I have yet to catch you."

Sly shrugged and said, "What can I do. Would love to help you out with that my lovely Carmelita, but to help you I have to go to jail. Then if I were to go to jail we couldn't have our night time rendezvous."

Carmelita smiled slightly thinking about Cooper being behind bars, but then she thought about all the times she had chased him and all the complements Sly had given her. Carmelita realized that she would miss there night time meetings. She then said in a sarcastic voice, "Oh yes Cooper that would be a shame. I don't know how I'd go on."

Sly smiled and said, "Now Carmelita, I wouldn't kid a kidder. I just may get the idea you enjoy my company."

Carmelita smile quickly turned into a frown as she said, "Now don't you get any idea's Cooper. One day I will still see you behind bars."

Sly smiled and shrugged his shoulder as he said, "Oh well. Now, you were telling me about the daily life of my favorite Interpol inspector."

"Fine, to continue my usual day I spend the entire morning poring over your file, trying to figure out where you will strike next. Then about 10:30 I head to the break room on my floor and get a cup of coffee while enduring the cat calls of almost every male officer except for one or two like your friend Todd who treat me with respect."

Sly began to frown and said, "I didn't know you had to endure that. I would expect Interpol officer to be up standing members of the community."

Carmelita laughed and said, "If that were only true. I have endured this kind of treatment since I was a constable fresh from the Interpol police academy. I mean, there was one guy who tried to put his arm around me during a meeting. To cut to the chase he missed the rest of that meeting and a week of work."

Sly smiled and said, "I would expect no less from the only Interpol officer that can keep up with me. I'm wondering though, what are the female officers doing while this is going on. Surely they are disgusted by these guys behavior as much as you are."

Carmelita frowned and said, "Yeah, they are just as disgusted with the behavior of some of the male officers, but they blame me for what the guys do."

Sly frowned, a flicker beginning to form in his eyes as he said, "How could they blame you for the way those butt heads act. It isn't your fault they don't know how to behave themselves. Well, at least they are acting a little bit better then the guys."

Carmelita shuddered and after a few quite seconds he said, "You would think they would be better, but there worse then the guys. They view me as a threat. They are afraid I will take there boyfriends away, so they make up nasty rumors. Rumors I rather not repeat."

Sly now had an angry flame in his eyes and was grinding his teeth. Carmelita saw this and asked, "Sly, are you okay."

At the sound of his name he instantly calmed down and his usual devilish smile crept onto his face as he said, "I must have something in my ear. Did you just call me by my first name my dear Carmelita?"

Carmelita blushed slightly and said, "I just noticed how angry you looked, just hearing about some of the jerks I have to deal with on a daily bases. Do you really care that much."

Sly smile turned from devilish to comforting as he said, "Carmelita, you mean the world to me. In the beginning, I was talking with you to distract you, but as time went by I began to see just how much truth my words had, at least in my eyes."

Carmelita's face continued to get redder. Carmelita thought as she looked across the table at Sly, "_Sly has always treated me with respect. In all his complements and flirty chit-chat he always keeps it in the best of intentions. Come to think of it I owe a lot to Sly. He rescued me from Clockwerk. He risked his own life to save mine, even after I threatened him with jail time every time we met." _

Carmelita's train of thought was interrupted by Todd coming through the sliding door. He walked over and picked up the dirty dishes before he went back into through the sliding glass door. Even though Carmelita wasn't ready to leave she guess that the sign that the dinner was over, that was until Todd came back through the door, now dressed in a pair of blue jeans, cowboy boots, light blue button down shirt, and a cowboy hat. Carmelita and Sly both stared at his strange getup. Wondering what he still had planned; Carmelita turned and asked Sly, "Okay Ringtail, What is this all about?"

Sly shrugged and said, "To tell you the truth Carmelita, none of this has been my doing. Todd just came to my room a couple hours before you got up her and told me to get dressed in this tuxedo and be up her at 9:00 sharp."

Carmelita was about to say something when she heard Todd snap his fingers. Suddenly the table, chairs, and everything else disappeared leaving Sly and Carmelita completely alone on the patio. Then they heard another snap and four speakers appeared in the corners of the patio, and several lanterns also appeared along the patio's railing. They then heard one last snap and Todd appeared on the top of the house, standing behind what looked like a DJ's table. He then picked up a CD, and inserted it into the disk player. A few moments later the country song "Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts began to play over the speakers, and before Carmelita knew it Sly was asking if he could have this dance.

Carmelita stopped just short of taking Sly's hand, thinking about what she was about to do, before she let her hand fall into his outstretched and they began to dance.

_I set out on a narrow way, many years ago_

_Hoping I would find true love along the broken road_

Carmelita felt a large weight lifting off her shoulders as Sly and her danced. Something about this just felt so right to her, and she couldn't understand why.

_But I got lost a time or two_

_Wiped my brow, kept pushing through_

_I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you_

Carmelita and Sly continued to dance. While they dance Sly heart was racing. He had stolen artifacts from the deadliest of security systems, and faced a giant robotic owl down, but never had his heart ever been going like this. What could it mean?

_Every long lost dream led me to where you are_

_Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars_

_Pointing me on my way, into your loving arms_

Carmelita's and Sly's eyes meet, and they both became lost in each other's eyes as they continued to dance and draw ever closer to each other.

_This much I know is true_

_That god bless the broken road that led me straight to you_

Carmelita looked down, and wondered what had just happened, and why it had felt so good, so right. Why did it feel as if she was meant to get lost in those eyes for all eternity?

_I think about the years I spent, just passing through_

_I like to have the time I lost, and give it back to you_

That is when Carmelita felt Sly's hand on her chin, as he brought it up so their eyes would meet once again.

_But you just smile and take my hand_

_You've been there you understand_

_It's all part of a grander plan and that is coming true._

Sly said, "Carmelita, I love you."

_Every long lost dream led me to where you are._

_Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars_

_Pointing me on my way into your loving arms_

Carmelita look deep into Sly's as she said, "I love you too, Sly Cooper, my one and only Ringtail."

_This much I know is true_

_That god bless the broken road that led me straight to you._

Sly and Carmelita brought there bodies close together as continued to dance, wishing the moment could never end.

_And now I'm just rolling home, into my lover's arms_

_This much I know is true_

_That god bless the broken road that lead me straight to you_

Carmelita and Sly's faces began to grow close, and then with no hesitation they began one loving kiss.

_That god bless the broken road that lead me straight to you. (End Song)_

Carmelita and Sly separated as the next song began. They soon came close together as the next song began to play, and they danced again. Todd watched as the pair danced well into the night, and just around 11:00 he brought out his laptop, which had several more mood appropriate songs ready to go. He set it up and then, with one last look at the thief and the cop, snapped his fingers and was gone in a puff of smoke, leaving Carmelita and Sly to their dance.


	6. An Interesting Proposal

_Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and the Cooper gang are property of Sucker Punch and I am just using them to entertain the masses with a good story. I only own the character Todd and the other elements of the story I have created my self._

Chapter 6

An interesting proposal

It was midnight by the time Carmelita and Sly came down stairs to the living room. Carmelita went over to the couch with Sly close behind her. Todd had just finished cleaning the kitchen from Sly and Carmelita's dinner when he walked out into the living room to see them sitting close together on the couch, already fast asleep. To avoid detection he snapped his fingers and transported himself to his room, but not before he covered the pair up with a blanket and smiled as he said to him self, "It is about bloody time. I thought you two were going to dance all night."

It was 7:00 in the morning when Todd reentered the living room, dressed in his usual work cloths. He looked over to the couch and smiled when he saw that Sly and Carmelita were still curled together under the blanket from last night. They had actually gotten closer together with Carmelita resting her head on Sly's shoulder and Sly resting his head on her head. Todd looked at the clock and knew he was due at the office in an hour, and unfortunately so was Carmelita. He walked over to the couch and gently gave the Interpol inspector and master thief a gentle shake, waking them up. Carmelita eyes fluttered open first and she slowly stretched out. She then looked over to see Sly still snoozing away. That was when the events of last night came rushing back to her. She looked around and saw Todd standing behind the couch.

Carmelita was back to her normal self as she said, "Todd, please tell me I only dreamed about what happened last night."

Todd let a small smile cross his face as he said, "Sorry Inspector, but it was no dream. Now, can I interest you in some coffee? "

Carmelita nodded as she followed Todd in the kitchen who with a flick of his wrist had gotten the coffee maker going. He then sat down at the kitchen table and began waiting for the coffee. Carmelita sat across the table from him and asked, "So, last night wasn't a dream, and Cooper did say he loved me."

Todd nodded his head and then as he stood up to serves the now prepared coffee he said, "I also remember you saying something about you loving him back, and how he was your one and only Ringtail."

Carmelita began to blush as Todd handed her a cup of coffee and sat back down on the opposite side of the table. They sat in silence a few moments before Todd said, "Inspector, I have a business proposition that you may be interested in."

Carmelita looked up from her cup and asked, "Really."

Todd took a sip of his coffee as he said, "Yep, It evolves the fact you have a week off from work coming up next week, due to your suspension. I looked on the back of the letter from the chief and it gave a few conditions for your suspension."

Carmelita's left eye brow rose slightly as she said, "Oh, what are some of these conditions?"

Todd sighed as he said, "The conditions are that

You are not allowed on any grounds owned by Interpol or and business associated with Interpol

You must leave your car at the Interpol garage for inspection.

You must leave your shock pistol and badge with the chief before you leave work today, and

During your suspension your house will be under watch"

Carmelita was stunned as she said, "What, they are going to be watching my house."

Todd nodded, and then took another sip of his coffee. He began to clean his glasses as he pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and set it on the table. "Here is my proposition," Todd said as he slid the paper across the table and Carmelita opened it up, "That is the necessary paper work for you to take your suspension as a form of vacation. Interpol will still be watching your house, but they will now expect you to stay away from your house the entire week. Now, I purpose you sign the bottom of that form and then spend your suspension here, seeing the world through Sly's eyes. I have had this heist ready for several months now, but we need five people to be able to pull it off. You will get to see how the Cooper gang works."

Carmelita read over the paper a second, and after a few minutes she reached over the table to where Todd had set down a pen and signed the paper. As she handed back to Todd she said, "This could be interesting, and helpful. With the kind of inside info I'm going to get next week I will see Cooper behind bars sometime soon."

Todd just shrugged as he took the paper and folded back up. He placed the paper in his shirt pocket and said, "Good, now that you are officially on vacation you can head up stairs. There is a door across the hall from the sliding door that leads out on to the patio. That is our guest room, and you can go make yourself comfortable. I will just teleport my self to work today so you can use my truck to go get yourself a change of clothes from your house. Now, I better get going. I have a lot of work today, unlike some people I know. Oh, and I know you hate to be without them, but I need you to give me your shock pistol and badge. According to your suspension they have to be turned into the chief by the end of the day today."

Todd took Carmelita's shock pistol and badge and Carmelita and left the kitchen after leaving his truck keys on the table. Carmelita got up and followed him into the living room, but before she could get around the corner she heard Todd mumbling something and by the time she had got there he was gone. Carmelita decided to go take a shower and went up stairs to the guest bedroom and bathroom. 15 minutes after Carmelita had gone upstairs Bentley came walking into the living room and was heading straight for his computer in the corner of the room. When he sat down he noticed a note stuck to the computer monitor. He pulled it off and read,

**Bentley,**

**Carmelita is going to be staying in our guest bedroom while she is on suspension. I also have convinced her to become a temporary member of the Cooper gang. Why she agreed I will never know, but I am happy to say that I think we can finally steal the sword of 8 elements. You know I have been hoping we could steal it, but we could never do it because we didn't have enough people. Now, with Carmelita's help, we can get it away from David Lancaster a.k.a the crime lord "Strong Arm". I know it is risky, but I need your help. There is a new file on your computer desktop that contains my rough plan. I need you to make the needed adjustments to make it foul proof. I'll owe you one Bentley**

**Todd**

Bentley threw the note aside and began to work on Todd's proposed plan. He was still working on it when 9:15 rolled around and Carmelita came walking down the stairs to see Bentley was the only one in the living room. She walked over to his computer and began to look at the screen over his shoulder. Bentley kept on typing away on the computer, not even noticing Carmelita's presence until she had said, "So, what's all this."

Bentley almost jumped out of his shell. After he had calmed down a bit he turned to Carmelita and said, "Please, Inspector, I'm going to have to ask you not do that. Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?"

Carmelita stood up and said, "Sorry, but now that I am a temporary member of the Cooper gang I would like to know what is going on."

Bentley sighed and continued to type on his computer as he said, "I am trying to plan are next heist. I assume you know of the crime lord Strong Arm."

Carmelita said, "Yeah, he is on the Interpol most wanted list."

Bentley continued to type as he said, "Well, about seven months ago Todd felt a very powerful mystical item enter the city limits. Thanks to a little digging on my part I found out that Strong Arm had just acquired the Sword of 8 elements. It is a powerful sword that contains massive elemental magic. The kind of magic Todd specializes in, and he is the only one that does. That makes him the only one that can truly control the massive powers contained within it. Do you remember when the old factory district was destroyed over night?"

Carmelita nodded and Bentley continued by saying, "Well, that was the first time Strong Arm tried to wield the sword himself, and he lost control. Todd is afraid that if he were to lose control again he could destroy all of Paris, and it seems Strong Arm also fears losing control of the sword's power as well. He had it locked up in a safe, in his office, in the headquarters of the Steal Arm gang, which you know is the gang Strong Arm is the leader of."

Carmelita looked at the picture of the sword Bentley had pulled up on his computer screen. Carmelita noticed that there were 8 strange symbols across the blade. When she asked Bentley about them he replied, "That is something Todd would know about. I can recognize the difference between chaos magic and voodoo, but that is about as much as I know about the mystic world."

Carmelita asked, "So, why haven't you guys already stolen it if Todd is so worried about what could happen."

"Trust me Carmelita; we would have if we could. There security is the definition of overkill, and it has proven impossible to get past with four people."

Carmelita cocked her head and asked, "Then why are you working on plans to steal it?"

Bentley turned to look at Carmelita as he said, "The reason I am working on it now is Strong Arm is having a party between him and some of his associates at his hideout, and with your help we may be able to steal the Sword of the 8 elements right out from under his nose."

When Bentley finished Sly came walking into the room in his usual dress, and he sat down on the couch. He grabbed the remote up and flipped on the morning news. That is when he noticed Carmelita standing behind Bentley's desk, looking at the screen. Sly just smiled as he remembered last night, and was about to mention it when he thought, "_Carmelita will never admit she had said I love you last night, at least not with Bentley or Murray in the room. I think Todd was able to hear it, he has some of the keenest ears, but I think it better for Carmelita if Bentley and Murray didn't know about last night, at leas not yet._

Sly had walked into the room and said, "So, how is my new boss this morning."

Sly smiled and he said, "Well I am just fine. Wait, what's with calling me boss?" Bentley then tossed Todd's note over to Sly and he read it over. Sly then got a huge grin on his face as he said, "My dream come true. I get to spend a week with my favorite Inspector, and she'll even help us pull of a heist."

Carmelita said, "Yeah, but don't get used to it Cooper. It's not like I enjoy your company. I am just taking this opportunity to see how you guys operate, and with that information put you behind bars, Ringtail."

Sly replied, "I just love it when you call me Ringtail, it's like your own little nickname for me, and I thought you would be happy to work with me for a week. I mean after last night I assumed."

Carmelita shot a deadly glare at Sly before he could finish what he was going to say, making Bentley wonder what had happened last night, but he knew better then to bring it up in front of Carmelita, so he decided to ask Sly later.

Bentley spent the remainder of his day in between his computer and an ever growing pile of papers on his desk. Carmelita had left around 10:00 in Todd's truck, heading to her apartment to pack a change of clothes for the week. When she arrived she caught sight of an Interpol van pulling around the corner, and she decided to take Todd's truck to Interpol and change it for her car. She then returned to her apartment and began packing, making it look like she was simply going on a well deserved vacation. Since, according to the paper work she had signed, she was spending time with some family back in Spain. She was returned to the Cooper gang hideout right around 12:00. She took her suitcase up stairs, and while passing the 2nd floor patio she saw the muscle of the Cooper gang practicing some boxing moves. After setting her suitcase in the guest bedroom she walked out on to the patio as Murray was taking hitting a punching bag with amazing force. Just as she walked up behind him he reared back and gave the bag one final punch and sent the bag and the very heavy base that was holding it up flying over the patio, landing barley short of the railing.

That is when Murray noticed that Carmelita was standing a few feet behind him. He turned toward Carmelita and said, "Greetings Inspector. I hope I haven't startled you with that great show of strength."

Carmelita stifled a laugh as she watched Murray strike a quick pose. She then regained her composure and said, "No I wasn't scared, but your form could use a little work."

Murray had gone over and picked up the punching bag and frame as he said, "Really, then lets see you do better." He then placed the punching bag right in front of Carmelita and stepped back, a slight grin on his face. Carmelita eyed the bag a second, looking over the frame of the stand as well. She then adjusted her footing a bit. Then, with the speed of a bullet, she did a very powerful round house kick and was able to send the bag flying just as far as Murray had. Murray stared in shock, and after a few moments said, "That was amazing."

Carmelita smiled and said, "Yeah, you just got to examine your opponent. Try and find a weakness in there stance. For example, that punching bag and stand is designed to stay balanced so its center of gravity is relatively close to the ground. By hitting it with a right balance of upward force and lateral force you could probably send it flying off this patio and into the backyard."

Murray got a look in his eyes like a kid a Christmas as he said, "Really, The Murray could knock it that far. Would you please show me how?"

Carmelita smiled as she motioned toward the punching bag as she said, "Set that thing back up and will get to work." Murray smiled and jogged over to the bag and pulled it of the ground with one hand. He then turned to Carmelita and waited for the instruction to begin. Carmelita walked over and said, "Okay first we need to work on your fighting stance." Carmelita and Murray worked till 3:00 when they both decided it had gotten to hot outside to continue. They went back down stairs and while Murray got them some water from the kitchen Carmelita walked into the living room and looked over toward Bentley's desk. She was surprised in the amount of clutter he had amassed in such a short time. The desk was covered with papers and diagrams. The computer monitor was lost under it own personal mountain of paper. Carmelita then saw a green hand shoot out from behind the highest pile of paper, the one in which the monitor was hidden in, and grab a sheet of paper off another pile. Then a few moments later she saw that same paper. It had been balled up and was sent flying behind the desk into a half full waste basket, filled with similar papers.

Carmelita then heard Murray come into the room and he handed her the glass of water. After taking a drink of it she turned back to Bentley's desk and said, "Hay Murray."

Murray finished chugging his glass and said, "What is it?"

Carmelita pointed to the desk and she said, "Does his desk always get like that when he is working on a plan?"

Murray looked over and after looking at the desk for a second he said, "Nope, it is usually much worse, but then half the papers are about you entering the scene during any part of the heist, and trying to account for every possibility."

Carmelita nodded and heard a door close from down the hall. In a few moments Sly came walking into the room. He sat down on the couch and then looked at Carmelita and Murray who both were showing signs of sweating. He said, "What have you two been doing." Before Carmelita could answer Murray began talking excitedly about the lesson Carmelita had given, and how he had been able to send the punching bag flying across the patio, over the railing, and right to the edge of their back yard. Sly nodded every few moments and when Murray was done he turned to Carmelita and said, "Why Carmelita, I didn't think you would be a good teacher. Guess the world is just full of surprises."

Carmelita walked over and sat on the other end of the couch from Sly. Sly was watching her and then he got a devilish idea. He got off the couch and walked over to the cabinets beneath the TV. He after a few moments of digging he walked back to the couch and tossed something toward Carmelita. Carmelita looked down and saw it was a wireless PS2 controller. She looked back to Sly who had taken up the TV remote and was flipping through the channels, trying to get the TV to the PS2 input. After a few seconds of flipping Sly found the correct Channel and then motioned toward the screen. Carmelita had been looking at Sly during all this and hadn't noticed what had appeared on the screen.

When Carmelita looked at the screen her eyes almost popped out of her head. She was looking at Sly and the roof of the old Interpol building. She turned back to Sly who was now smiling mischievously as he said, "Do you like it Inspector. I must admit it doesn't do me justice, but Todd and Bentley assure me that the next one will be better."

Carmelita looked back toward the TV and said, "A video game, you are the main character in a video game."

Sly's smile got bigger as he said, "Yep, a few months ago Bentley built a scanner for his computer allowing him to render objects and people into a computer model. Todd had the idea of trying to make a video game with it. Bentley knows a lot about programming, so creating the mechanics for the game was easy, but the art was lacking, so that is where Todd came in. Using a hunk of clay, a large amount of different color paints, and his magic he formed small models of every element in that game we couldn't get by normal means."

Carmelita looked back at Sly and asked, "So, am I in this game."

Sly smile widened to the limits of his face as he said, "Yep, but I don't think you'll like the voice."

Carmelita cocked her eye brows and asked, "What's this about my voice?"

"Don't get me wrong Carmelita. In my opinion your voice is comparable to a chorus of angles, but Bentley here didn't have enough samples of your voice recorded, so he couldn't use his computer to generate your voice correctly, so we had to use what we had."

Carmelita turned back toward the game and then she heard Sly say, "Don't worry, play through the first level and you'll see what I am talking about." Carmelita turned back to the screen. After a few moments she hit the start button and began the game. She went through the first level pretty quick, and after the cut scene at the end level she turned toward Sly and said, "I'm not terribly angry about the voice, but couldn't you make it closer then that."

Sly shrugged as he said, "Well, if you are bothered by it so much why don't you do what me, Bentley, and Murray did and be the voice actor for your character."

Carmelita nodded and said, "You got it Ringtail, but I assume breaking through the laser security at Interpol's old office was harder then the game portrayed."

Sly replied, "Your right, for the game's sake Bentley and Todd made the security systems a little more passable, making it a little easier to play. Trust me Carmelita; I had a bit harder time breaking in to Interpol when I really did it. So, you going to keep playing, or do I need to show you how it's done."

Carmelita smiled as she turned back to the TV and said, "Just show me your high scores and I'll blow them out of the water."

Sly said, "Oh, I would love to see you try my sweet Inspector." Carmelita spent and hour on the game, and Sly was amazed at how easily she was getting through it. She was almost doing as well as he had when he first played the game. Sly didn't see Carmelita as one with great video game skills. So what was making her wiz through the game in record time? He shrugged as he thought, "_Guess there are still a lot of things I don't know about Carmelita."_


	7. Saturday

_Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and the Cooper gang are property of Sucker Punch and I am just using them to entertain the masses with a good story. I only own the character Todd and the other elements of the story I have created my self._

Chapter 7

Saturday

Friday night had gone by with little trouble. Todd arrived home at his usual time and they all enjoyed a nice dinner, prepared by the master thief himself. While they were eating Todd mentioned to Carmelita that even though she was only a temporary member of the Cooper gang, she would have the same responsibilities as the rest of them, and that includes taking a turn cooking dinner. After they had eaten Todd bid them all good night and headed off to his room. Carmelita asked, "Why is he turning in so early?"

Bentley was washing the dishes as Sly dried, and Murray helped Carmelita clean of the table. Murray had heard Carmelita's question and said, "He's just going to his room to meditate."

Carmelita gave Murray a questioning look as she said, "He's meditating?"

Bentley turned his head and said, "Yeah, Todd meditates every Friday for three hours. He does it to keep a firm grip on his mystical energies."

Sly then added, "You see my fare Carmelita, Todd wields a large amount of mystical energy. Most people who can call themselves mystics have to concentrate hard on what there doing, and say long winded spells to do half the stuff Todd does with a snap of his fingers. The only time he even looks at a spell book is he is performing a spell he isn't familiar with."

Carmelita said, "How can he have that much power?"

Sly shrugged and said, "We don't know how, or why he has such power. Anything that deals with magic seems to come naturally to Todd, but we think it has something to do with his blue fur."

Carmelita nodded as the group finished cleaning up and walked into the kitchen. Carmelita yawned slightly and looked over to the clock to see it was right around 8:00. She saw Sly and Murray sit down on the couch as Bentley began to dig in the cabinets on one side of the room. After a while he shouted from inside the cabinets, "So what do you guys feel like playing to night."

Sly looked over toward Carmelita before he said, "How about Clue, we haven't played that in a while."

Carmelita raised her eyebrow as she asked, "What is this all about Cooper."

Sly smiled slyly as he said, "Every Friday Bentley, Murray and I play a game. Some times me play a video game, but usually a board game. We do it to relieve some stress and ease any quarrels that may have popped up during the week between us." By this time Bentley had brought the Clue box over and was setting up the board. After everything was set up Bentley began to hand game pieces to the others. He handed the yellow piece to Sly, the purple piece to Murray, and he took the green piece for himself. He then held out the remainder of the pieces in one hand in front of Carmelita. Carmelita looked at the pieces a second before she picked the Red piece and set it on her space so the game could begin.

After a few minutes of playing everyone seemed to be doing pretty well. Sly and Carmelita seemed to be tied, but no one could tell. Sly had his usual winning smile on his face, but Carmelita's face showed no expression at all, a perfect poker face. Sly rolled the die and moved his piece into the kitchen and said, "I believe it was Mr. Green, in the Kitchen, with the rope." When no one told them they had a clue card to disprove his theory Sly smiled and began to reach for the envelope in the center of the game board.

Carmelita then spoke up and said, "Hold it Ringtail, how about we have a bit of a wager."

Sly smiled, unable to resist Carmelita's offer as he said, "All right. Twenty Frances say that my theory is right."

Carmelita began to smile as she said, "I bet thirty Frances that it was Mr. Green in the Dinning Room with the rope." Carmelita and Sly shook on their bet before Sly picked the case envelop up from the middle of the board and read what the right answer was. He read aloud, "Let's see, it was Mr. Green, with the rope, in the, "Sly then paused as he looked at the card. Carmelita waited for Sly to read the card, but after a few minutes of quite she grabbed the card out of his hand and began to smile wildly that it was the Dinning Room card, not the Kitchen card. Sly's brain caught up with his body as he said, "How is that possible?"

Carmelita mused as she said, "Well Cooper, did you notice you dropped a card at the beginning of the game?"

Sly looked down onto the floor where he saw the Kitchen card sitting on the carpet. He picked the card up as he said, "Carmelita you are sly as a fox, but you probably get that a lot."

Carmelita just continued to smile as she said, "Enough sweet talk Cooper, when are you planning to pay up." Sly just smiled as he reached into a pocket and pulled out a wallet. He fingered through the contents and handed Carmelita her winnings. After they had cleaned up the game Bentley and Murray had bid Sly and Carmelita good night, but before Sly could get down the hall Carmelita said from the stair well, "Good night Ringtail."

Sly stopped and turned to say, "Good night Carmelita, the fairest of them all." Carmelita just shook her head as she headed up stairs, where she would spend her first night as a member of the Cooper gang.

The following morning Todd, Bentley, Murray, and Sly were out of there bedrooms, dressed and ready for the day by 7:30. Todd, Bentley, and Murray headed out into the back yard while Sly climbed the stairs to the second floor. He waited a moment and then pounded on Carmelita's door. He heard Carmelita shout something in Spanish. After a few minutes he pounded again and this time he heard her say in English, "Go AWAY!"

Sly chuckled as he said, "Sorry Carmelita, but being a member of the Cooper gang means you have to come to the backyard every Saturday morning and join in the teams training.

Carmelita groaned and Sly heard her say, "Fine Cooper, I'll be down in fifteen minutes."

Sly smiled and said, "You better, or I'll have Todd poof you down to the backyard, in whatever you happened to be wearing." Sly smiled as he heard Carmelita jump out of bed and begin rummaging through her clothing. Sly walked down the stairs and out into the back yard. Bentley and Murray had gotten dressed in there field operation clothes, and Todd was also dressed in what would be called his Cooper Gang work cloths. He was dressed in set of black jeans, a black T-shirt, black shoes, and black gloves with white symbols on the palms. Carmelita came down ten minutes later dressed in her usual Interpol dress. She saw Todd and said, "Nice outfit, have something for black?"

Todd just shot Carmelita a quick glare before he snapped his fingers and then with out warning vanished into thin air. Carmelita looked around wildly, trying to find Todd when she heard a strange sound behind her and turned to be face to face Todd. Todd smiled and then took a few steps back. Once he was a few feet away from Carmelita he disappeared again after saying, "Catch me if you can Inspector."

Todd kept appearing a disappearing for 15 minutes before Carmelita finally said, "Alright, enough with the magic act.

Todd reappeared and lowered the hood of the cloak and said, "What I was just doing is called the Shadow Step. The Shadow Step is a spell of pure shadow energy that allows me to move completely undetected by sight, laser beam, spot light, or sound. I can still touch and hit things though."

Sly walked up behind Carmelita while Todd was explaining the basics of the shadow step. Then with out warning he touched her shoulder, and to his surprise she quickly took his hand and with amazing force pulled him over top of her head. Before Todd or Sly could react Carmelita sent Sly flying in Todd's direction and before he could move Sly hit him like a ton of bricks and they both went flying backwards another few feet before they hit the ground. Todd and Sly laid there dazed for a few moments before Sly came back to his senses and said, "Geez, glad I never tried that while you were chasing me. I would probably been put in jail a long time ago if I had." Sly then helped Todd up they both brushed a little dirt of there cloths.

Carmelita smiled to herself and then regained her composure as she said, "Well, are we going to get this practice started or can I go back to bed."

Todd shook his head and said, "Usually we each go doing are own thing, practicing skills we feel we need to work on. This Saturday is special though, today we are going to spend are morning training session teaching you the skills every thief needs to be successful."

Carmelita looked around the group and said, "Well then let's get this training started."

Sly walked up to Carmelita and lead her out to the center of the yard as Todd sat cross legged on the ground and watched. Sly nodded at Todd and he placed both his hands on the ground and soon a low rumble could be heard coming from underneath their feet. Suddenly the ground Carmelita and Sly were standing on began to rise up till it was even with the second floor patio. The Patio railing then began to twist and turn until it formed a perfectly straight rail between then patio and where Carmelita and Sly were standing.

Sly turned toward Carmelita and said, "Okay, first we'll start with the Cooper Rail walk."

This is how the entire morning went. Todd set up many different scenarios for Carmelita to learn and be tested on the four skills Sly had chosen for her to learn. The Rail Walk, the Rail Slide, the Ninja Spire Landing, and how to use a cane like Sly's to get around and to fight with.

To Todd and Sly's amazement their lesson plan which should have taken until right around noon only took them till 9:30. By then Carmelita was doing all the super thief moves like they were childes play. Sly was beginning to wonder if teaching Carmelita all these moves was such a good idea considering she may use them against him if she goes back to Interpol, but Todd was wondering about something else. He thought, "_First she goes through the video game like it's a game of tic-tac-toe. Now she learns the super thief moves of the cooper family so fast, it as if it's in her blood. Wait, in her blood! That may be just something I might want to look into." _Todd smiled as he returned the backyard to its original state and got up off the ground. He waited for Sly and Carmelita to come up to the side of the house before he said, "Carmelita, you seem to have a knack for these thieving moves. I am truly surprised."

Sly smiled as he looked toward Carmelita and said, "Make that two of us."

Carmelita nodded her head and said, "Three of use. I don't know why, but Cooper here explained it once, and it just seemed so easy to do."

Sly and Carmelita continued to talk as the trio walked into the house to see Bentley lost behind the pile of papers on his desk. When Sly asked where Murray was Bentley said he had gone out into the garage to work on the van. Sly sighed as he thought about Murray doing another thing to that already overly modified van. The rest of the day was pretty relaxed as Todd disappeared into his room to work on something while Sly watched Carmelita continue to whip through the Sly Cooper video game.


	8. Carmelita’s Heritage

_Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and the Cooper gang are property of Sucker Punch and I am just using them to entertain the masses with a good story. I only own the character Todd and the other elements of the story I have created my self._

Chapter 8

Carmelita's Heritage

Sunday was commonly a day of rest for the Cooper gang unless they were on a job. Sly had decided that it was a good day for them all to head to the largest mall in Paris for a day of shopping. Everyone agreed to go except Todd, who just said he had some work to do, and it needed to be done right away. Sly accepted the excuse, and after everybody had gotten somewhat disguised Bentley and Murray got into the van while Todd let Sly and Carmelita take his truck, if Carmelita would be the driver. Carmelita took Todd's keys and soon Todd was the only one in the house, and that was what he needed.

Todd quickly changed into a pair of white wizarding robes he had been given by his teacher when he had official completed his training as a wizard. The white robes allowed magic to flow better, and Todd just liked how he looked in them. He stepped out of his room in the white robes with a brown spell book tucked under his arm. He walked into the living room, and with a snap of his fingers pushed the furniture up against the walls, clearing a large space in the center of the room.

Todd then dug in one of the draws on the entertainment center and pulled out a small brown leather bag. He centered himself in the empty space in the living room and set the bag at his feet. He then popped the book open and after flipping a few pages he found the diagrams he needed. He placed the book down where the leather bag was and then set the bag on the book. He began to mumble something under his breath and soon white chalk erupted from the bag and formed a perfect circle around Todd. It then continued to draw an elaborate design within the circle, and once all the chalk was used up Todd picked the spell book up and said in a single breath.

_To the elements I make this plea_

_Come forth and carry me_

_My question requires an answer_

_And no one is the answer's master_

_So let me travel by your will_

_Let me investigate until I get my fill_

_Does Carmelita Montoya Fox have the thieving spark?_

_And if she does, where in her family did a thief leave his mark?_

Suddenly the chalk began to glow a bright yellow, and in a flash of light Todd was gone. When he opened his eyes he saw he was standing at the tip of the great pyramid in Cairo, Egypt. Todd had time traveled before, and knew that this was not the modern day Egypt. He opened his senses, and found someone who was telling someone else the date. Todd listened to the date, and smiled when figured out that he was back in the time of Slytencaumen, the pioneering ancestor of the Cooper family.

As if on cue Todd could hear several palace guards shouting something in ancient Egyptian. Luckily Todd knew to listen for a few key words, and he heard the word for thief. He focused his energies on finding the one they were pursuing, and just as he saw the thief turn a corner and suddenly disappear.

Now, to one who didn't know about Slytencaumen ability to vanish from sight they would have been seriously confused, but Todd knew better. He quietly transported himself to the rooftop across the street from where Slytencaumen was hiding, and waited until the guards ran passed. A few moments after the guards had run past Slytencaumen reappeared and began to run in the opposite direction. Todd quickly and silently jumped down from the roof, and began to follow Slytencaumen. Instead of running after Sly's ancestor Todd used a low level levitation spell to follow him in utter silence.

Todd only had to hide once when his robes hit the tale of a cat that was sleeping beside a house, and spooked the pour creature to death. He ran like lighting into his owner's house, but not after knocking over a broom he had been sleeping by and causing a bit of a racket. Todd was able to get into an alley before Slytencaumen turned around. After a few seconds Slytencaumen had continued running, and Todd slipped out of the alley and continued to follow him. They crossed the city until they got to a small house on the edge of town. Slytencaumen quickly went through the door way and closed the make shift door behind him. Todd jumped up to the roof of the house, and peered down through a hole in the roof.

Slytencaumen crossed the room and sat down on the rug as he began to dig through the spoils of his work. Suddenly a woman came walking into the room with tears in her eyes. Slytencaumen got up and hugged her as he said something in ancient Egyptian. Todd sighed and muttered something that let him hear what they were saying in the English language. He then reversed time a little bit and was able to hear Slytencaumen say, "What is it my ruby of the Nile?"

The woman sobbed in his arms as she said, "Slytencaumen, the pharaoh's messenger came while you were gone. The pharaoh has passed a new decree. He's making us put one of our children into the royal academy where they are going to train them to be the pharaoh's royal guard. He is tired of the complaining of the nobles whom you have stolen from. Slytencaumen, what are we going to do."

Slytencaumen looked over to a corner of the room and said, "I will teach my son how to be a thief, so we can carry on the tradition of thieving from those who have become corrupted with their own wealth. The new born, the girl will be the one we will allow to be taught in the ways of the royal guard. She and none of her decedents can know that they were related to use. I will take the boy and head to Alexandria. You must stay here and say I have gone on a long journey with our son. Once our daughter has come of age let them enlist her in the royal academy."

Suddenly a knock came at the door and the voice of a royal guard could be heard shouting for them to come out of the house. Slytencaumen held his wife tight for he could sense as Todd could that the house was surrounded. Todd knew he had to do something, so against he better judgment he leapt down from the roof as he pulled the hood of his robes on, hiding his face. He knew that exposing himself might alter the time line, but he had a feeling it needed to be done. The guards quickly asked who he was, but Todd didn't say a word as darted toward the nearest guard and punched him so hard in the face he was out cold on the spot.

Slytencaumen and his wife listened as the sounds of fighting erupted outside their house. After a few minutes everything fell silent, and Slytencaumen slowly opened their door to see an entire battalion out cold on the ground, at the feet of this strange figure in a white robe. The figure just turned to him and said, "Go now; there is a boat at the northeast docks that will leave for Alexandria at dawn. That will be your last chance to get out of Cairo by any normal means."

Slytencaumen quickly disappeared inside the house and had packed up everything he and his son would need to go live in Alexandria. Todd just stood by the door until Slytencaumen and the boy were about to leave when Slytencaumen asked, "What can I ever do to repay you."

Todd just said, "Live long, teach your son to be a great thief, and do this one thing."

Todd paused a second before he said, "Create a book. A diary of sorts so that all your decedents can know the thieving techniques you use. So that as the book passes from a fathers hand to his son it will get larger and become the ultimate guide to thievery."

Slytencaumen nodded his head as he lead his groggy eyes son out of the house, and of to Alexandria. The wife held Todd's shoulder a second as she asked, "What do you wish me to do?"

Turned to the woman and said, "Do as the pharaoh asks, and when this young child comes of age enlist her in the royal academy."

With that Todd left the house, and after he was a few blocks away he felt the time on his spell run out and he was thrust back to the present. He now was lying in the middle of the living room, the chalk all off the floor and back into its bag. Todd glanced at the clock and knew that he still had a couple of hours before the others were due back from the mall. He quickly cleaned up and changed into his usual cloths as he jumped onto Bentley's computer and began to trace Carmelita's roots.

As the clock struck 5:00 in the afternoon Todd leaned back in his chair and smiled as he said, "It is true. Carmelita is the descendent of the daughter of Slytencaumen. That one night created both a great family of thieves, and an equally great line of law enforcers. Isn't that just an interesting bit of history?"

"What's such an interesting bit of history?" Todd jumped at the sound of Carmelita's voice. She had walked into the room with a few shopping bags in her hands.

After Todd had calmed down a bit he asked, "Where are Sly, Bentley, and Murray."

Carmelita set down the bags and took a seat on the couch as she said, "They stayed at the mall to catch a sci-fi movie. It looked terrible to me, but I guess it's a guy thing. So, what were you just talking to yourself about?"

Todd paused a second, trying to think of a good story when the phone on Bentley's desk rang. Todd quickly picked it up and said, "Hello."

"This is computer brain, is this you wizard." Todd got a confused look on his face until he figured out that is was Bentley's voice coming over the line. Bentley had only ever used code names when he was afraid the line could be tapped so Todd played along.

"Yep you've got the wizard. I'm here at the workshop with the apprentice. What is the problem?"

"Sitting Duck, Brawler, and I have seen Strong Arm here and we over heard that he is going to put the sword up for purchase at his party he is having this Friday. I noticed he had an Indian Water bug on his jacket. Can you check my Indian Water Bug file to make sure it is there?" Todd thought about the clues in the sentence and then opened up a program on Bentley's computer. He had just told Todd that he had planted a homing beacon on Strong Arm and Todd had to verify that it was working. As soon as the computer registered the single Todd got back to the phone and said, "That is a go Computer Brain, The Indian Water Bug file is good, anything else?"

Bentley said, "Nothing else Wizard, Computer Brain out." Todd then hung up the phone and sighed as he watched the homing beacon on the screen head in the direction of Strong Arms hideout.

Carmelita walked over to the computer and said, "So, what happened?

Todd looked toward Carmelita over his glasses and said, "Strong arm is putting the sword up for sale, so that means that we have to steal it before the purchase can take place, and get out of their fast because the second he goes to fetch the sword to present it to the buyer he will be on to us. This will complicate our plan."

Carmelita realized as she looked at Todd a second and realized she didn't have a clue what the plan was or what it entailed. After a few silent moments Carmelita asked, "What will be different?"

Todd smiled as he knew that Carmelita's curiosity had gotten the better of her and he said, "Well, since the party is so close I doubt that Strong Arm will make any drastic changes, so our original plan will still work, but we need to tweak the time tables and make it go faster. Strong Arm will have the sword on display in the center of the dance floor at the top of a grand and detail obelisk. The party would center on the obelisk, and now he hopes that he would be able to pass the sword he can't even use off and get a large some of money for it."

Carmelita shrugged her shoulders as she said, "So, what difference will that make?"

Todd took his glasses off and began to clean them as he said, "It means heightened security on a security system that was already the definition of over kill."

Carmelita looked at him and said, "So, what's our plan now?"

Todd placed his glasses on his face again and said, "Bentley name the plan Operation Fox Magic. Bentley had gotten in and modified the guests list so it includes Mister Will and Miss Carmen Masquerade. That will be you and Sly. Bentley had gotten Murray hired as the one of the 5 security personnel that are guarding the Sword of 8 Elements. Once the party has started you and Sly are to dance and just be ready when its time to get the sword. Though I am a master of elemental magic, the magic the sword is forged of, it will still take a few minutes to synchronize the elemental forces within the blade. This will help me to keep a full and complete grasp on the massive amount of energy it contains. At max it will take me fifteen minutes to get ready and then I will notify Bentley that I am ready at my end. He will then contact you two and Murray. Sly will bump into Murray and they will get into a shouting match. This will act as a distraction for the other four guards. While this is going on you are going to be placing a small device Bentley and I are developing."

Carmelita asked, "What will the thing do?"

Todd just smiled and said, "Hopefully it will keep anybody from noticing the sword has been stolen until it to late. The device is a mixture of magic and technology that will project a hologram of the sword right on top of the sword. Once you have the item in place you give Bentley a quick call and he will notify me that I can make my move. During all this I will be hiding as a shadow on the ceiling right above the sword. I will jump down from the roof and using my earth magic I will create several statues of myself and cause utter chaos. While I fall from the ceiling to the floor I will grab the sword and pass it off to Sly who will have a make shift sheath for the sword. Once the sword is sheathed you, Sly, and Murray will make a break for the van. I will cover you with my statues and once your gone I will melt into the shadows and leave them to deal with my statues. Fifteen minuets after I have left the statues will turn to dust, and we will have the Sword of eight elements in our possession, and off the streets."

As Todd finished describing the heists Sly, Bentley, and Murray came walking to the living room carrying some grocery bags and a few bags from the shopping mall. They all talked, and spent the rest of the evening working together to fine tune the plan, and give it a time scale that could be changed in case of an emergency.


	9. The Flame of the Thief

_Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and the Cooper gang are property of Sucker Punch and I am just using them to entertain the masses with a good story. I only own the character Todd and the other elements of the story I have created my self._

Chapter 9

The Flame of the Thief

The gang spent the rest of the week practicing the heist and reviewing their parts. By the time Friday came around they were all ready for the heist. They needed to leave for Strong Arm's hideout at 7:00, and it was 5:30 now. Sly, Bentley, and Murray were working on the Cooper van, making sure it was up to operating standards. While they were doing this Carmelita was on the second floor patio having a quick sparing match with Todd before they needed to leave. As they fought Carmelita got the feeling something was distracting Todd, and she finally asked, "Todd, what are you thinking about. You were a lot more attentive when you fought that block head of a constable back at Interpol."

Todd sighed as he sat down on the railing on the patio and said, "To tell you the truth there is something I think you should know something about your past."

Carmelita went over and sat beside him and asked, "What is it?"

Todd sighed as he pulled his glasses out of his pocket and said, "I did a little digging and I was able to trace your heritage all the way back to ancient Egypt."

Carmelita eyed Todd a second before she said, "And why are you snooping into my business."

Todd replied, "Easy, I didn't mean to offend. It's just after I saw how quickly you learned those master thieves moves I began to wonder. You see Sly possesses some called the Flame of the Thief. It is a unique quality that is a sign that the person who has it is a descendent of Slytencaumen, the one who originally had the Flame of the Thief. It was what allowed him to do the greatest of all Cooper family's thief moves. It's a technique that allowed the user to turn invisible and become completely undetectable until he chooses to move."

Carmelita nodded and said, "I can see that Sly is related to this Slytencaumen, but what does this have to do with me."

Todd sighed and said, "Slytencaumen had a wife, a beautiful fox that was Slytencaumen's ear on the inside. Being the Pharaoh's attendant allowed her to hear about the nobles and landlords that were mistreating or abusing their power. Those were the only ones that Slytencaumen ever stole from. They had a perfect life, and soon had a strapping young boy who Slytencaumen wished to teach the family business to. A few years after the boy was born they gave birth to girl, but before the girl was even three months old Slytencaumen had to take his son and flee to Alexandria or risk getting himself, his wife, his son, and his new born daughter imprisoned."

Todd paused a second before he said, "The girls name was Carlapatra, and she would grow up to be the head of the Pharaoh's royal guard, and the best guard the Pharaoh ever had. If we trace her family history her family stayed in Egypt until the great civilization fell and they whole family made the dangerous journey to Spain, where they remained through times hardship and times of joy until this very day. That was until a few decades ago when the youngest daughter of the family moved to Paris to join Interpol. She came here to chase down those who crossed the law, never knowing that her family can be traced back to the greatest thief in all of Egypt."

Carmelita jaw hung down as Todd finished saying, "Carmelita you have something that hasn't been seen in your family since the days of Slytencaumen. You have what no other Fox had, the Flame of the Thief. Though you have spent you life suppressing it, it still burns with an ancient power. It is still your life, and you can choose to be of the law or against it. All I can say is if you want to talk to someone, you can trust me to keep your secrets locked away until the end of time."

Todd stood up from the railing and walked over to the patio door, but just as he began to open the door he heard Carmelita say, in a very quite voice, "Thanks Todd."

Todd turned and smiled as he said, "Anytime Mrs. Fox. Now, we should get changed. We have a big party to get to, and a few things to pick up while we're there." Carmelita nodded her head and followed Todd as he went through the door. Carmelita popped into her room and a few minutes later came out in a long black dress. It was a sleeveless design with a slit that went up the side much like the dress she had warn to Rajan's party back in India.

As Carmelita walked by the boys' rooms she caught Sly as he was leaving his room, dressed in a full tuxedo. Sly quickly noticed Carmelita's presence and said, "My, you look lovely this evening Carmelita."

Carmelita smiled and blushed slightly as she said, "You look quite good yourself Ringtail."

Sly smiled and offered Carmelita his hand as he said, "Shall we head to the party, I hear it is going to be one Strong Arm will never forget."

Carmelita smiled as she took Sly's arm and said, "You know what, I think it will be a memorable night for us two."

Sly and Carmelita walked through the garage and out onto the drive way where Bentley and Murray were waiting in the Cooper van and Todd dressed up in a driver's outfit and was standing by a limo Sly had rented for the job, and for his dear Carmelita. Todd opened the passenger door and said, "Hello Mr. Will and Mrs. Carmen Masquerade, or should I say Sly Cooper and Carmelita Fox. Your ride is waiting, and I do believe you two have a party to get to."

Sly nodded as he helped Carmelita into the back of the limo and Todd closed the door. Todd then walked around to the driver seat and he soon had the limo heading down the street toward Strong Arm's party, the Cooper Gang van not to far behind.


	10. A Slow Dance & a Question Asked

_Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and the Cooper gang are property of Sucker Punch and I am just using them to entertain the masses with a good story. I only own the character Todd and the other elements of the story I have created my self._

Chapter 10

A Slow Dance & a Question Asked

They arrived at the party right on schedule. Strong Arm had made his hideout, which usually looked like a simple warehouse, into a form of Egyptian palace. The inner dance hall looked like the inside of the Pharaoh's palace. The wall had been covered in Egyptian hieroglyphics as were some columns that were set up around the dance floor. Outside the ring of columns many tables and chairs were set up as was a buffet table. On the inside of the ring Strong Arm watched the guests dance from an Egyptian like thrown positioned on one side of the ring. On the other side the band was playing and in the center stood the grand obelisk. The obelisk was a true Egyptian obelisk, not one created just for the party, but a true artifact. Todd introduced Carmelita and Sly to Strong Arm and was turning to leave when he caught something out his eye. It was the hieroglyphics on the obelisk. They described a prophecy that, if Todd wasn't mistaken, described Slytencaumen. Against his better judgment he slipped his own binocucom and took a picture of each side of the obelisk before he left the ball room to get changed into his black wizarding robes, which were better for hiding and stealth.

Carmelita and Sly check up on Murray for a second, making he was sure he where he was supposed to be, right beside the obelisk. Sly and Carmelita then began to dance to the music. It was a fast waltz, but they enjoyed every minute of it. Sly was looking deep into Carmelita eyes, as she was looking into his. Almost everyone else stopped dancing when a slow song came on and the pair danced so elegantly someone might mistake them for angels dancing on a cloud. Once the song had ended everyone else continued dancing as Sly and Carmelita continued to dance to the song that was no longer playing.

Todd's shadow appeared on the roof of the building over top of the obelisk before he himself appeared there, using a little magic to levitate there. He watched Carmelita and Sly dance for a second before he got to balancing the 8 different forces contained inside the sword. Luckily for him the process didn't require much of his attention because, he, Murray, and Bentley would have been extremely disappointed if they had not witnessed the coming event either in person or from the buildings security cameras.

Sly and Carmelita finally noticed that the song had changed 5 times and they began to dance to the bit faster beat of the current song. Sly bit his lip a second, doubting if he should do what he was going to, but eventually he threw caution to the wind and said, "Carmelita."

Carmelita looked up the Sly's face before she said, "I thought we were undercover Sly."

Sly nodded his head and said, "We were, but this song is so loud the only people who could hear what we are saying, or even care what were saying is Bentley, Murray, and Todd."

Carmelita smiled and said, "So, what is so important you would risk the operation for it."

Sly sighed a bit, but then amassed his quickly wavering courage and said, "Over the past few days I have gotten used to you being at the hideout, and I was wondering."

Carmelita asked, "Wondering what Sly?"

Sly took a deep breath and said, "I was wondering if you would like to become a permanent member of the Cooper gang."

Carmelita's heart was leaping for joy, but she somehow contained her excitement and said with a straight face, "I don't know Ringtail; I might consider doing it on one condition."

Sly got a worried look in his eyes as he asked, "What is it."

Carmelita smiled and gently kissed Sly on the lips as she said, "You add a marriage proposal to that and I'll say yes. I must admit Sly, for quite a while, even while I was trying to put you behind bars, you captured my heart with your charm and sweet words mister Cooper."

Sly almost shouted to the heavens, but Todd made a quite noise into his communicator that brought Sly to his senses. After a quite second he said, "I am not in a real position to propose…" Sly suddenly felt a lump in his pocket and when he reached down he felt a small, soft box. He glanced up to where Todd was hiding and he swore he saw Todd's hand appear out of no where and motion him onward. With out hesitation Sly got down on one knee and asked, "Carmelita would be my bride."

Carmelita smiled as she opened the small box and looked upon one of the most gorges rings she had ever scene. The band of the ring was a sterling silver with gold designs on it, and the gem of the ring was a jewel that had a mixture of red, blue, and green colors all swirled about. Carmelita took the ring and slid it on to her finger as Sly stood up and they shared on kiss.

It was lucky for them that no one, but a few people seemed to notice the quick but meaningful scene. It would have gone on much longer, but Bentley's voice came over everyone's radios as he said, "We will celebrate this event later, now, its time to get to work. "

Sly, Murray, Carmelita, and Todd nodded their heads as Carmelita and Sly began to dance toward where Murray was standing. It took a bit of work but Sly was able to manage it so that he and Murray brushed shoulder a little roughly and Murray said, "Hay, watch where you are going light wait."

Sly turned to Murray as he put on an angry face and said, "Excuse me sir, but staff members at such an affair, especially security guards, should be seen not heard."

Murray grunted a little and said, "I think you should take that back before I pound you in front of your women."

Sly growled in his throat as he said, "You shall regret referring to her like that." With that Sly jumped Murray and they began to role along the dance floor. While this was going on Carmelita pulled a small chip out of a pocket Todd had put on her dress and while the other four guards that were guarding the obelisk were prying Murray and Sly apart Carmelita set the chip on the obelisk and radioed to Bentley, "The chip is in position."

Bentley radioed back, "Understood Carmelita. Get back with Sly and start making your way to the door that is if Strong Arm doesn't have you to thrown out of the party." Bentley then switched over from Carmelita's radio channel to Todd's and said, "It's your game Todd."

Todd nodded his head and said, "Understood, get ready for utter chaos."

With that Todd broke the spell that was holding him self in the air and as he fell past the sword he took hold of it and easily removed it from the obelisk. Once he hit the ground he brought he left palm down onto the ground and within a few minutes several statue look a likes of the Cooper gang mystic began to terrorize the guests. Sly slipped toward Todd and handed him the sheath they had made for the sword. Todd slipped the sword into the sheath, and then Sly began to leave the party, with the sword or 8 elements hidden in his sleeve.

Todd teleported Murray safely out to the Cooper van in an explosion of flame to make it look like he incinerated Murray. Sly and Carmelita were outside in a few minutes after Todd had made his big entrance and were in jumping to the Cooper van. They were back to the house in a few minutes and were ready to celebrate the successful heist with Todd when they found out he had yet to transport himself back to the house.

Everyone waited for Todd to return for about thirty minutes when they began to worry if something had gone wrong. That was when the phone rang and Sly picked it up and answered, "Hello."

The voice on the other end said, "Is this the Cooper gang."

Sly answered, "Yes, it is."

"Good, this is Strong Arm, the guy you two bit thieves just stole from, but I got something of yours out of the deal. It's blue, furry, and goes by the name Todd."

Sly eyes widened as he said, "What do you want."

"It's simple, bring back the sword and you get your amigo back. You don't and he won't live to see sunrise. You have two hours to bring the sword to me here at the warehouse where the party was. If you are one minute late, trust me, you will regret it." With that Strong Arm slammed the phone down. Sly turned to Carmelita, Bentley, and Murray, but they could tell from Sly's face that Strong Arm had gotten a hold of Todd. They all were heading for the garage door, the sword in hand, but when Sly tried to open the door it wouldn't budge. They checked the lock on the door, but it was unlocked.

The gang was heading for the front door when they heard someone calling to them over the gang's radio system. Bentley rushed over to the unit and raised the volume as the voice said, "I repeat, do not give Strong Arm the sword."

Bentley's eyes widened as he said, "Its Todd. He is using his magic to make it so he can talk to use over the radio with out actually moving his lips."

They heard Todd chuckle over the radio as he said, "Bentley, you always were the quick one. I will miss you my friend."

Bentley rushed over and picked up the microphone attached to the radio unit and said, "Don't talk like that Todd. We'll bring the sword, and get you away from that mad man."

Todd sighed and said, "I can't allow you to do that. The sword is just too great of weapon to be left in the hands of Strong Arm or any of his associates."

The four of them argued with Todd for thirty minutes, but he still wouldn't allow them to leave the house. Finally Carmelita stormed down the hall to the garage and they heard her pounding on a door, while the others continued to try and reason with Todd.

The scene was looking grim, because even if they wanted to they could never get across town in time to give Strong Arm the sword with out risking getting caught by a traffic police man. They were on the brink of giving up when they heard Carmelita stomping down the hall back to the living room. When she came into view they noticed that she had a dark green book in her hands as she said, "If he won't let us leave, let's use the sword to bring him here."

Bentley eyes widened as he took the book from Carmelita and began to flip through the pages. After pausing on a page for a few seconds he said, "I usually wouldn't approve of this Carmelita, but I think your right. If Todd won't let us give use the sword as payment for his freedom, we'll use its power to bring him home. Now, according to this book we will need to use pure chalk to create a circle on the floor with these patterns."

Sly looked at the diagram in the book and said, "Doesn't look to complicated, and I know where Todd stashes his chalk." Sly then began to rummage in the drawers of the entertainment center while Murray and Carmelita got the other things they would need to cast the spell. The items were 8 white wax candles and the sword of 8 elements. While Carmelita and Murray were raiding Todd's closet for the candles Sly and Bentley went about using the pure chalk bust to create the pattern necessary for the spell to work.

The spells preparation took several minutes, and Todd would be killed by Strong Arm in thirty minutes when Bentley read the final step of the spell and gasped as he said, "No, we can't cast the spell."

Sly walked over to Bentley and asked, "What's the problem?"

Bentley pointed to the page and read, "This spell must be cast by either one who is a wizard, or by two people who contain what is called the Flame of the Thief. The only one here that has the Flame of the Thief is Sly, and we don't have time to set up another spell."

Carmelita put her hand on the book and said, "So, we try anyway. Sly and I will try to cast the spell."

Bentley eyes bugged out as he said, "ARE YOU CRAZY. If the spell is done wrong we could kill Todd."

Carmelita took the book out of Bentley's hands and said, "It will be better then Strong Arm killing him. Strong Arm is known to make anyone he wants dead suffer an extremely long, painful death. Even if we mess the spell up, it's a better death then the one Strong Arm probably has planned for him."

Bentley sighed and nodded his head in agreement. Sly and Carmelita took their places on either side of the circle and read the incantation in the book in unison, "

_We require transport this instant_

_To transport Todd across a great distance_

_Take him from there to here_

_From my the clutches of Strong Arm to the Cooper Gangs lair_

_Take them with the speed of light_

_But let them be like shadows in the night_

_Hidden and concealed from sight_

The chalk circle began to glow a bright white as did the sword of 8 elements which was positioned in the center of the circle. The light grew brighter and brighter till everyone had to shield there eyes. The light stayed like that for about a minute, but as the light finally began to die down they saw a figure standing in the circle, leaning against the sword of 8 elements. As the light continued to die they could start to make out what appeared to be blue fur. Once the light had completely died down the gang stood in silence as they saw Todd standing in the center of the living room, still as stone.

They all feared the worst, but then Todd took a deep breath and then said, "Not as smooth of ride as I'm used to, but who's complaining when the alternative is death."


	11. Epilogue

_Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and the Cooper gang are property of Sucker Punch and I am just using them to entertain the masses with a good story. I only own the character Todd and the other elements of the story I have created my self._

Chapter 11

Epilogue

Life was never the same after that moment. The others soon found out that Carmelita had the Flame of the Thief, thought Todd didn't reveal from whom she inherited the flame.

The next Monday morning Todd and Carmelita walked into the main offices of Interpol, France Division. Todd gave Carmelita a final wish of good luck, and then went to his own office where he would continue to be the Copper gang's man on the inside. Carmelita took the elevator to the top floor of the building and headed straight for the chief's office. She knocked, and then entered where the Chief was eyeing her from across the table.

Carmelita sat down and after a few minutes the chief smiled and said, "Well Carmelita, I am happy to say…"

Carmelita cut him off though by saying, "Sorry chief, but I am not going to take it any more. This whole job has become centered on politics, and I feel its time I got out of the system. So, you can keep my badge and Shock pistol, and consider my desk cleaned out, because I quit."

The chief's jaw hung open as Carmelita left his office and slammed the door. Her office was empty in 30 minutes and she headed down to Todd's office. When she got there she said, "I have done it."

Todd smiled and said, "I am proud of you Carmelita. Now, you head back to your apartment where Sly, Bentley and Murray are ready to help you get your stuff moved. Since Strong Arm knows are phone number, it won't be long before he is breaking down the door. So, were moving into an old abandoned mansion in the west part of town. It should make a fine headquarters, though it will make my drive to work ten minutes longer."

Carmelita smiled and left Todd's office as he sat in his chair and smiled as he said, "It seems everything worked out."

Suddenly a transparent figure appeared beside Todd's chair. It was a raccoon. He was dressed in a blue T-shirt and also carried a pipe. On his belt was the Cooper Gang logo, the blue raccoon's head. The ghostly apparition said, "I thank you Todd. I can now rest in peace that my boy has found him self a wife, and he has fulfilled his last passage into manhood."

Todd sighed and said, "You know, if Sly ever were to find out I had been working with you to make this all happen, he would never forgive me."

The figure smiled and said, "Well, if he does find out it just would just make me prouder, but if that does happen you know how to contact me."

Todd looked off toward the photos of the obelisk he took at the party and said, "It is a very interesting coincidence."

The apparition turned slightly and said, "What is?"

Todd smiled and said, "The obelisk the sword was stuck in had an old prophecy inscribed in it. It mentioned the night the Slytencaumen had to flee to Alexandria. It said, "Though the flame may be separated for many years, it is destined to become one again under the shadow of this obelisk." When Sly proposed to Carmelita they were standing in the shadow cast by the obelisk. I guess it is because of Strong Arm's little party that Carmelita soon may be changing her name."

The figure put his hand on Todd's shoulder and said, "Todd, your mother would be proud of you. You have become a mystic beyond her own abilities, but you also are proving to be a very good friend to my son. I thank you for that."

Todd pulled a small book out of his chest pocket and asked, "So, where will you be, heaven or hell."

The figure smiled and said, "I think this old Cooper is intended to pass through those pearly gates."

Todd smiled as he said, "Give my regard to your wife, and I will be in touch, David. The father of Sly Cooper."

With that the transparent figure vanished and Todd smiled one last time before Constable Ace stepped out of the elevator that lead to Todd's office, about to ask what his password was again.


End file.
